Broccoli is a great beginner crop! It can be somewhat finicky about temperature, but if you plant at the right time for your region you have the possibility of growing a great crop! Of course, there’s more to growing great broccoli than just planting in the right temperatures. So to help you succeed, here are 6 Great Tips for Growing Broccoli!
6 Great Tips for Growing Broccoli
1. Watch the temperatures. To grow great broccoli, your plants need to grown in a cooler (not cold) season. If the weather is too hot, the broccoli will flower quickly and you won’t have anything to harvest! So make sure that temperatures stay at around 50-80 degrees.
2. Fertilize your plants. Broccoli plants do very well with nitrogen fertilizers, especially if there’s not a lot of nitrogen already in their soil. You should fertilize the soil when you plant your broccoli, then fertilize again with a liquid fertilizer when the broccoli plants are beginning to grow leaves. It also wouldn’t hurt to add more liquid fertilizer as the heads of broccoli grow. If you keep your broccoli well-fed, they’ll grow big heads of crisp, delicious broccoli!
3. Provide ample space. Homegrown broccoli has the possibility of growing larger than the broccoli you see in the grocery store! As a result, you’ll want to make sure you have left your plants enough space to grow and flourish. You should plant each broccoli about 1-2 feet apart from each other. Rows of broccoli should be 2-3 feet apart. If more broccoli seedlings grow in one area than is ideal, feel free to thin them so that the remaining plants are at least 1 foot apart.
4. Watch the water. If you hope to grow great broccoli, you’ll have to be careful when watering. Make sure not to get the broccoli heads wet. But don’t let the plants dry out either. Try to keep the soil at the base of your broccoli moist (about 1 inch of water each week should be sufficient). During especially dry seasons, water more to compensate, and make sure that you’re watering deeply so that it’s not just the surface that’s getting wet. You want the water to sink down into the soil
5. Mulch around your plants. Mulching is very helpful when you’re trying to grow great broccoli! It’s a handy way to keep moisture trapped in the soil, preventing your broccoli from drying out too quickly. Mulch is also helpful at reducing how many weeds will grow, which is great because the less you have to weed, the less likely you’ll accidentally damage your broccoli’s roots! Good mulch for broccoli includes pine straw, shredded dry leaves, and grass clippings (given that the grass wasn’t treated with anything).
6. Actively prevent pests. Your broccoli can possibly be damaged by several different insects including aphids, cabbage worms, flea beetles, and cabbage loopers. To keep your crops safe from these pests, weed frequently, clean out any garden debris, dead plants, or diseased plants, and consider getting row covers.
Have you tried growing broccoli in the past?
More Vegetable Gardening Tips:
10 Tips for Growing Vegetables
Tips for Growing Broccoli in your Garden
8 Vegetables You Need to Grow in your Garden
How to Grow Tomatoes
Tips for Growing Carrots in the Garden
Thanks Savanna for sharing your gardening tips!
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Scott Kronabetter says
I really like your blog; It is well lsyed out and very informative! Thanks for posting!
michelle startzel says
why does my fresh broccoli always have such a STRONG odor after I take it off and clean it?? it smells in my whole house and I can’t get rid of the odor for three days. Help.