Today we planted our tender broccoli plants that we started from seed February 11, 2022. I am early planting broccoli this year, but I am going out of town, and they need to be planted before I leave. I’m excited to see their progress when I return.
Broccoli does prefer cooler temperatures which is why I am not too worried about getting them planted this early. We placed a medium weight row cover over them which should help with the cooler nights as well as keep the critters out.
It is best to try planting broccoli in spring or fall, depending on your planting zones. Planting to late in the spring season can lead to the broccoli plant bolting and going to seed. If you are collecting your own seed, then this is a good thing otherwise this is usually very frustrating. We started all our brassica’s a little early this year. I think next year I will try not to be so eager and wait until later in the month of February. Our seedlings have 5-6 true leaves and strong stems, so I believe they were ready. We choose a spot in the garden that gets at least 6-8 hours of sun a day.
Soil Requirements for Planting Broccoli
Broccoli likes soil with a PH level of 6.0-7.0. You can test your soil with a soil test kit. This will give you the PH of your soil. Some kits will also give the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash levels. There are some really easy kits too that you simply take a soil sample and mail it away. Either way it is a good idea to understand your soil before planting any vegetables. We added some organic composted manure back into the soil that we purchased from a local farm. It has sat for a year, so it is ok to use this spring. You can add composted manure in the fall or early spring just be sure it has sat long enough not to burn your tender plants. This puts those nutrients back into the soil that last year’s plants depleted.
Planting Directions
We planted a variety of broccoli called Calabrese. We also used seed I collected from a mature broccoli plant that I let flower and go to seed and was very pleased with the results. The seed we purchased was from Annies Heirloom Seeds and they both look amazing. This variety has a maturity time of 58 – 90 days and the plant spacing is 12”- 24” apart. I planted two rows. The front row at 24” apart and the second row behind that one I also planted 24″ apart but spaced them opposite of the plants in the front row (Looks like a triangle).
If you are starting broccoli from seed, you will want to do this 6- 8 weeks before your last frost date which you can find on the Farmer’s Almanac website. This is a great resource for this, simply put in your zip code and it gives you the dates as well as your planting zone.
I hope you will try planting broccoli in your own garden and found something useful in this article. If so leave me a comment and Happy Planting!
This calculator is found on Johnny’s Seeds, and it is very useful!
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