Broccoli Update
I wanted to share an update on the broccoli that I started from seed February 11, 2022 and share with you how to grow healthiest broccoli plants ever. We transplanted our broccoli plants outside on March 16, 2022, which is very early but I was going out of town. It is now April 5th and wow they look great. They weathered the snow and 16 degree temperatures beautifully. I truly believe the row covers from Agfrabric saved them. These row covers are amazing. The bottom cover is an insect cover for the many pest we have in Ohio and the outer row cover is for weather protection. Without the insect row cover I would not be able to grow any brassicas due to the different pest that we battle each year. Last year was our first year using these row covers and I truly swear by them.
Giving your Broccoli Plant a Head Start
The broccoli plants were started indoors in self watering Gardener Supply seed starting trays, which I also love. The trays have a capillary mat that keeps the plants from drying out and are made from a heavy-duty, recycled plastic, so they are not flimsy at all. Thats a game changer! I used an organic seed starting soil mix from Espoma with a layer of vermiculite on the top to prevent the seeds from drying out.
Once the seeds germinated, which only took 4 days, I began to fertilize with an organic indoor plant fertilizer from Espoma which I purchased on Amazon. I do like my Espoma products. I fertilized weekly and I believe this is what gives my plants a jump start. That and the amazing grow lights that I have switched to this year, I also purchased these on Amazon. All of these techniques combined really will give you the healthiest broccoli plants and set them up to a great start.
Transplanting your Healthy Broccoli Plants
Once they had 5-6 true leaves and strong stems, they were ready to transplant outside. One thing I did do to ensure the plant had strong stems was to clip a small battery-operated fan to each shelf in my zip up green house. This was just enough air movement to give them nice strong stems and prepare them for some windy conditions outside.
Hardening Off
You will want to take about one full week and use this time to “harden” them off which means getting the plant accustomed to the outdoor elements. I started off but placing them out on my deck for about an hour or so each day. Then I increased this time on day 3 up to about 4 hours and then increased an hour each day. The day before I planted them outside, they spent the night all tucked in under the row covers that I made ready for them. This was the true test. They did just fine. The next day they were planted in their new cozy home under the row covers.
We amended the soil with organic composted manure that has sat since last spring. We get this from a local farm. After we amended the soil, we top that with the Espoma BioTone plant starting fertilizer. I just started using this a couple years ago and I love it. Then comes the easy and fun part. Dig a hole and plant your beautiful plant. Bury the plant just up to the soil base and gently firm into place. Water in generously and they are ready to grow.
Now that it has been a few weeks I can see a huge difference and I believe it is due to the great start the plants get in the very beginning when first planted in seed trays. These will be my healthiest broccoli plants ever. I will probably fertilize a couple times during the growing season, and I will be sure to update on their progress. You can check out the article Planting Broccoli to see what varieties we used and the planting specifications.
I hope you found something in this article useful and if you did leave me a comment. Happy Planting!
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