Skip to main content

Growing Broccoli

Image
By

Growing broccoli organically is popular among the home gardeners. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) is actually an edible green plant whose large flowering head is eaten as vegetable. It belongs to the cabbage family, actually a cool-season and can't be grown throughout the year.

Broccoli is rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C and Vitamin K. It's very healthy and you probably love to have this vegetable in your table. It can be consumed in many different ways including raw and processed.

Growing broccoli organically in home garden can be a great way for enjoying this vegetable. Home grown broccoli will taste good plus you have full peace of mind that it's totally organic.

How to Start Growing Broccoli in Home Garden

Growing broccoli in home garden is not that easy. It requires lots of care and maintenance for growing broccoli organically in the home garden, just like growing cabbage. However, here we are describing more about growing broccoli in your home garden.

Select a Variety

There are actually 3 common types of broccoli available namely Calabrese, Purple cauliflower and Sprouting. The Calabrese broccoli type has large green heads and thick stalks.

The Purple cauliflower type is grown in Europe and North America. It has a head shaped like cauliflower but consisting of tiny flower buds. While the Sprouting broccoli has a large number of heads with many thin stalks.

broccoli, how to grow broccoli, growing broccoli, guide for growing broccoli, how to start growing broccoli, growing broccoli in home garden, growing broccoli organically, growing broccoli organically in home garden

Within these 3 types, there are many other varieties available. Some popular broccoli varieties are Calabrese, Flash, Green Duke, Green Goliath and Paragon. While choosing a variety, try to know it's surviving ability in your area.

Purchase Seeds

Search your nearest seed stores for the seeds of your desired broccoli variety. The seeds should be available if you live somewhere where broccoli is grown. You can also order broccoli seeds online. Always try to purchase good quality seeds for growing broccoli in your home garden.

Best Time for Growing Broccoli

Broccoli is a cool-season crop that can't do well in hot summer weather. It actually grows well when exposed to an average daily temperature between 18 and 23 °C. Just like growing spinach, broccoli can be grown in the spring or fall.

Preparing the Soil

Broccoli grows well in sandy soil with the availability of full sun. The plants require very fertile soil (rich in organic materials) for proper growing. So prepare the land before planting seeds or transplants. Till the soil and add well-rotted aged manure or homemade compost. This will give the broccoli plants most of their required nutrients.

Planting

Broccoli can be grown either by planting seeds or transplants. Broccoli plants are very hardy and the seeds can germinate in soil with temperatures as low as 40º F.

For growing broccoli from seeds, start the seeds 4-5 weeks before the plants are needed. Plant seeds about half inch deep in rows, 3-5 inches apart. Keep about 2.5 feet space between the rows. Water the seeds regularly during their germination period. Thin the seedlings 1 to 1.5 feet apart.

broccoli, how to grow broccoli, growing broccoli, guide for growing broccoli, how to start growing broccoli, growing broccoli in home garden, growing broccoli organically, growing broccoli organically in home garden

Growing broccoli from seeds is not recommended for the beginner home gardeners. You should plant the transplant instead for avoiding hassles. You will probably be able to purchase transplants easily from any of your nearest nurseries.

Caring

Like growing cauliflower in home garden, growing broccoli also require some additional caring and maintenance after planting. Here we are describing more about the common caring steps for growing broccoli organically in home garden.

Feeding/Fertilizing

Broccoli plants are heavy feeders and they require lots of nutrients in the soil. So, you will need to fertilize the soil often for better growth. Fertilize the soil 3 weeks after transplanting with organic fertilizers such as manure or compost.

Watering

Keeping the soil moist constantly is very important for proper growth of the broccoli plants. So water the plants regularly, especially during in drought conditions.

Mulching

Mulching around the broccoli plants will help to retain moisture in the soil. And it will also help to prevent weeds from the garden. Use organic materials for mulching.

Controlling Weeds

Weeds will consume nutrients from the soil. So controlling them will be good, so that you can ensure all the nutrients are available for the broccoli plants. Hoe between the rows for controlling weeds (do this very carefully, because the broccoli plants have very shallow roots).

broccoli, how to grow broccoli, growing broccoli, guide for growing broccoli, how to start growing broccoli, growing broccoli in home garden, growing broccoli organically, growing broccoli organically in home garden

Pests and Diseases

The most common pests of the broccoli plants are the cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, flea beetles, aphids and whiteflies. Visit your garden often and look for any sign of pests. If you notice any pests, remove the leaves or entire plants and destroy them.

Downy mildew is a common disease in the broccoli plants. This disease cause yellow patches on the leaves and it is generally caused by moist weather. Try to keep the leaves as dry as possible and ensure good air circulation.

Nitrogen deficiency problem is also common in the broccoli plants. The plants need high nitrogen if you notice the leaves are turning yellow. Blood meal can be great for this purpose.

Harvesting

The broccoli will be ready for harvesting when the buds of the head are firm and tight before the heads flower. But harvest immediately, if you see yellow petals. The broccoli will taste best if you harvest in the morning before the soil heats up.

For harvesting, use a sharp knife and cut the heads from the plant and take at least 6 inches of stem. Most of the broccoli varieties have side-shoots that will continue to develop after the main head is harvested. So you can harvest broccoli from one plant for many weeks.

Hope you have enjoyed this guide! If you have love this vegetable, then you should definitely consider growing broccoli in your home garden. Good luck!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

By
The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sorting Cattle

By
Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

By
Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...
Post a Comment
Read more

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

By
Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cleaning A Cow

By
Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Agerolese Cattle Farming

By
Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

By
Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...
Post a Comment
Read more