• Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Prep-Ahead Meals Cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Gardening
  • Kid’s Activities
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Budgeting Tips
↑

Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living

  • Cookbooks
    • Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches
    • Prep-Ahead Meals From Scratch
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area
    • Member Login
    • Join Us
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Garden
  • DIY
  • Kids
  • Budget

You are here: Home / Gardening / Tips for Growing Broccoli in Your Garden

Tips for Growing Broccoli in Your Garden

April 14, 2017 by Alea Milham 11 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
21691 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
How to Grow Broccoli in your garden
how to grow broccoli in your garden

One of the best things about growing broccoli in your garden is that is is so hardy it can withstand a frost of light snow. You can start broccoli seeds indoors, then harden them off after the last hard freeze and transplant them outdoors.

Here are some tips for Growing Broccoli in Your Garden including how to grow broccoli from seed, how to transplant broccoli sprouts & when to harvest broccoli plants.

Broccoli has gotten a bad rap over the years, as children would rather turn their noses up at it than give it a decent try. The truth is, broccoli can be quite tasty, and offers many health benefits such as iron and fiber. Consider adding broccoli to your garden plans this year, so you can have it fresh at your fingertips when you need it. Here are some tips for growing broccoli in your garden this season.

Tips for Growing Broccoli in Your Garden

How to grow broccoli from seeds:

Broccoli is slow growing, so start it indoors 6 weeks before the final frost of the season. Use a nutrient rich soil and plant seeds ½ an inch deep in your seed starters.

How to transplant your broccoli seedlings:

Most seedlings are fine to be transplanted when 2-3 inches tall, but you want to wait until broccoli seedlings are a good 5-6 inches tall before you move them. You want them to be hardy, and to be sure the threat of further frost has passed.

Seedlings should be planted a good 3 inches deep, and each plant should have a at least 12 if not 18 inches between it and other plants. Broccoli does like to stretch out, so by giving it this kind of space you can allow it to do so and thrive.

How to care for broccoli seedlings:

Broccoli is such a low key vegetable. You will find that it doesn’t need any fancy care in order to get it growing. Be sure it is getting 6 hours of sunlight a day and is in moist soil. You don’t want to allow the soil to dry out at any point.

Pests may be a problem, so be sure to keep an eye out for bugs such as aphids. When you see them, remove the pest as well as any damaged portion of the plants. Some also like to put collars around the stem of their broccoli plants to keep pests from eating and climbing on them. You can create your own collar out of paper or cardboard tubes if you wish.

Fertilizing your broccoli is not necessary. Should you still want to, a basic garden fertilizer will do the trick.

How to Grow Broccoli including how to grow broccoli from seed, how to transplant broccoli sprouts & when to harvest broccoli plants.

General tips for producing a good broccoli crop:

Aside from the tips above, not knowing when to harvest the broccoli is the biggest mistake first time growers make. The broccoli you are growing fresh in your garden may not look like the stems of broccoli you buy at the store. Knowing this is important, as it can keep you from allowing your broccoli to overgrow.

Growing Broccoli in Containers

Are you wondering if you can grow broccoli in a pot? You can grow broccoli in a container garden, but it is a heavy feeder, so it needs more space and nutrient-dense soil than other vegetables of similar size. It also only produces 2 crops, the main head and then the side shoots, so you don’t get as much produce for your space as you would from lettuce or kale. Plant your seeds or start a seedling in the center of a 3 gallon pot, follow the growing instructions above. When growing broccoli in a container, you will want to extend its growing season by moving the pot to a shaded area once it becomes hot outside. This will help ensure you are able to harvest the second crop of side shoots. Here are more container gardening tips.

Tips for Growing Broccoli in Your Vegetable Garden including how to start broccoli from seed indoors, how to transplant broccoli sprouts & when and how to harvest broccoli plants.

When and how to harvest broccoli:

The average head of broccoli is the size of an adult fist. Do not wait for the head to grow any larger than that as it will not taste the same. It will instead be bitter and dull. Do not wait for the broccoli head to flower or produce small white bumps. Instead, simply cut it at the stem when it is the size of a fist and bright green.

Once your broccoli is harvested you can steam it, eat it fresh, add it to salads, and cook it into casseroles! Broccoli has so many serving options, you may have to grow a whole garden full to try them all. Here are 10 Broccoli Recipes to try once you have harvested your broccoli.

Do you have an excess of broccoli from your garden? Use it up in these 10 awesome broccoli recipes!

Give these tips for growing broccoli in your garden a try and see what a great addition it is to your garden!

More Vegetable Gardening Tips:

How to Start Square Foot Gardening

Plot Gardening for Beginners

Secrets to Growing Summer Squash

Tips for Growing Heirloom Tomatoes

Tips for Growing Kale in Your Garden

 

21691 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Jordan Francis says

    May 5, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    My seedlings keep flopping over, do I need something to support them?

    Reply
  2. Lucille Lozier says

    March 28, 2020 at 2:12 pm

    After you cut you head of broccoli you will have small sprouts grow and you have to cut it once a week. It will produce all summer. just water it.

    Reply
  3. Maikami says

    July 19, 2018 at 10:37 pm

    Should I cut leaves that turn yellow? Should I prune the plant?

    Reply
  4. Melissa says

    June 4, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    I’ve had a garden my whole life and thought I knew everything. lol I loved reading your tips on green beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. VERY helpful and informative. I saved your website for future reference. Thank you!!!

    Reply
  5. Kelli Evans says

    September 22, 2016 at 12:58 pm

    I have a lot of large leaves, but no head. What’s going on? This is a fall crop.

    Reply
    • Robin says

      April 1, 2018 at 8:38 am

      My plants are doing the same thing. Large plants with big leaves but no broccoli heads.

      Reply
  6. Patricia says

    June 10, 2016 at 7:35 am

    How many times will brocilli produce from one plant.

    Reply
  7. Patricia says

    June 10, 2016 at 7:34 am

    A rabbit has eaten the brocilli leaves, will I still get some brocilli

    Reply
  8. Meghan says

    April 4, 2016 at 4:13 am

    This is my first year growing broccoli, thank you for the tips. They were very helpful.

    Reply
  9. Angi @ SchneiderPeeps says

    January 8, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    Hi, I wanted to let you know that I originally saw this article on a scrapper site, they cut and pasted the entire thing. I thought you would want to know.

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      January 8, 2016 at 9:24 pm

      Thank you Angi!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Search

Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches by Alea Milham

Recent Articles:

2 ways to start composting easily

3 Ways to Start Composting

How to attract wild birds to your yard.

Tips for Attracting Winter Birds

use succession planting to grow more food

How to Use Succession Planting to Grow More Food

Prep-Ahead Meals from Scratch Where to Buy

BROWSE:

  • Blog
  • Cookbooks
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area

ABOUT:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

Copyright ©2023, Premeditated Leftovers™. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs