Broccoli ( A Year Round Favorite )

Broccoli (brassica oleracea) is a cool weather loving garden plant that is relatively easy to grow. Popular member of the brassica plant family (that includes cabbage, mustard, kale, kohlrabi, etc..) While this vegetable can be grown in warmer climates and seasons, in our experience it is ideal to sow in the late summer or late winter (under protective shelter) for the best results. It’s often said that brassicas that matures in the cooler months tend to have a sweeter taste to them than those grown over the summer months.

Last Fall (’21) we planned to sow three varieties: the popular Waltham 29, Belstar and a Burgundy variety. We sowed 2-3 seeds in each of the pod holes (shown in the pictures below) into a medium of potting soil and other amendments (a special blend to be specified in a future blog), and left them to germinate in the green house. Within 5-7 days the seedlings began to emerge and from there we kept a consistent watering schedule inside the greenhouse that still have the tendency to reach higher temperatures in the late summer/ early fall days.

To winter over the sown broccoli, it is best to use garden hoops and row coverings suited for the cooler weather ( shown in picture below ). We use bricks or large stones to keep the fabric in place, but have found binder clips useful as well. Watering and upkeep become less of a task during the fall and winter months as the temperatures tend to remain low enough to keep the soil moderately moist.

With another week or so left in the Winter season, we thought we’d take a peek at what shape our broccoli plants were in following the cold season.

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