My Number One Secret to Growing Full Broccoli Heads
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- čas přidán 28. 12. 2023
- Broccoli had been a huge gardening FAIL for me until I made one big shift in how I grew it. Here's my secret to growing a big, beautiful broccoli head at home.
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You have to pick the correct variety of broccoli to get a spring harvest. There are varieties that mature within 60 to 65 days after transplant so those varieties work best in spring. They also work great in the fall in order to get more food in less time.
I moved from Champaign IL down to Huntsville Alabama and I found out very quickly that it gets hot fast in the spring. Sooo, my fall garden is bigger than the spring garden!!
You do the same thing in the spring. You start the seed indoors so it’s ready to plant outside a couple weeks before your last frost date and hoop it. Those little white moths a laying eggs on them every time they touch them and that’s how you get those cabbage worms. They like to get their roots established in cool temps. The same with anything from the brassica family.
Broccoli is a fall crop down here in the Florida Panhandle, and it can grow through the winter and into the spring unless we have an extended hard freeze. A light frost doesn’t hurt it. It’s been down into the mid-30 here this December, and my broccoli is doing fine. I’ve cut one nice head off a plant that I started in October, and it now has side shoots. Last winter, I had three consecutive days of hard freeze in December, and lost my broccoli. I just transplanted a bunch of small broccoli plants that will be mature in early spring. I may have to cover them if there’s a hard freeze on the horizon, but so far, the coldest it’s gotten is about 34 at night with 40s and 50s during the day, and that’s like beach weather for broccoli. 😊
I am in North Carolina. I have had the best luck planting in October. It is now January and I have harvested a few heads of broccoli and have several more ripening. And the florets are now coming in during the first week of January.
@@ronaldlaven8118 I guess you’ve gotten the hard freeze that’s covered the Southeast. We’ve had temps down to the teens here in Pensacola. I’ve covered as much as I could including my young broccoli. Everything that’s been covered is doing well with no sign of damage. My sugar snap peas and snow peas were on a trellis and I couldn’t cover them. They seem to have taken a pretty hard hit, and there’s more freezing weather coming this weekend, so that should do them in. Next week it’s supposed to warm up. If not I intend to sue Al Gore for not giving me the global warming that’s been promised. 😁
Broccoli is a cool season crop. We start them in sept/oct here in Florida like other Cole crops
I live in southern Cali and my broccoli always goes to flower because we always have warm days, even in between winter storms. I’ve just gotten used to harvesting the side shoots and eating them like broccolini.
Old farmer told me broccoli likes to be started near autum. Cool weather crop
Mine all didn't survive this winter. Not doing that again.
@@CoenCoenNL I plant my broccoli seeds in march and keep the seeds damp, I keep them right out side protected by rain and, wind, they do just fine! There COLD weather plant so the cooler the better.☺
It’s definitely all about timing! I’m in East Texas and grow my broccoli all winter for an early spring harvest. I don’t have anywhere to plant indoors when it’s hot so this was my solution. So far so good. I may try next year to plant indoors or under cover during summer to get them to a full harvest as well. I didn’t do that this year though. I was preoccupied with all the squash coming out of the garden! It was beautiful!
I live in southern Missouri and have very good luck growing broccoli, from seed.😊🎉❤
Try Johnny's "Happy Rich". It was developed for hot weather. (Cold too-we have been enjoying it all winter here in South Carolina). There is an excellent description in their catalog.
They are always sold out when I try to order it! Bout to check Johnny's now! I'm really like the sprouting broccoli rather than the head broccoli. I'm making double the money in the same space. This year I didn't even plant any heading broccoli.
Can't you do some hand watering? I have to water our 2 large plants almost every day. But I harvest every day too! @@scout7060
@@scout7060 We've been getting a lot here so far this month. I hope it keeps up. Farmer's Market was dead today though, left with 60 heads of lettuce (I brought 200). Usually I sell out!
You are exactly right. In SE Texas, I was able to harvest for over 3 months. The broccoli even survived hard freezes.
I farm broccoli and I live in South Carolina. You can grow broccoli in both the spring and the fall successfully. The main problem is variety. You don't want to buy the broccoli varieties they sell at the box stores, or actually any seeds they sell. It's all failed commercial varieties in the box stores. The most reliable broccoli variety for fall and spring is without question Belstar. If you want to know the commercial standard is becoming a variety called Castle Dome. Castle Dome is a dwarf broccoli plant that makes a decent sized head.
I have switched to growing floret broccoli, because the profit margin is literally triple what I was making per field of broccoli. Anyhow, broccoli is one of the easier plants to grow, but is all about getting the correct genetics. That's the case with most crops, the stuff they sell in the stores makes you think you are doing something wrong. Especially true with strawberries. ALL, I mean literally EVERY SINGLE variety that they sell in box stores is garbage.
Do you have a suggestion for floret broccoli?
@@C3Voyage Burgundy and BC1611.
Thanks for your information
Wow, thanks for naming varieties. I am trying to start a small market garden in my yard and am just lost lol. Any suggestions for someone just starting out?
Those bastards have wasted my efforts , money and hard work !
Absolutely right. Broccoli, romanesco, cauliflower and collard greens I've started in spring, battled bugs and hot weather for 7 months and then the plants that are left start to look better in November when the rain starts and the cold hits and the bugs die and I harvested in January this year. Brassicas do great in cold/above freezing from what I've found
We grow broccoli in south Miss every Fall. Ieave the stem in the garden and gst a secend crop from each leaf node.
So that's why here in Australia I plant in mid autumn due to white butterfly and it forms in winter.
Thank you. Living in East TN and have broccoli seedlings growing indoors, so wish me luck with Spring broccoli. 😊
You accurately articulated all of my difficulties with growing broccoli. This year I'll try fall broccoli!
Thanks for that tip. Will give it a try!
Thank you dear. I had the same problem. This year I'll try your way. 🥰
This is my experience exactly, and I'm down in the Southern Hemisphere. I have just started growing broccoli in Autumn and it has made a world of difference.
Less pest issues also. I always grow my brassicas over winter in N Central Texas.
How many times have I learned this lesson, but just didn't want to accept it!! 😅 Spring in Colorado is VERY short. You've inspired me to save some energy and grief this year. 🌞
Good advice! It looks delicious, enjoy! 👌⭐❤️
Mine grew well last year. We are in northern BC Canada, we have to cover or root worms and cabbage worms get them. I got some nice heads but any that started to flower- I ate them like that-delicious. I also cooked up and ate the leaves or dried them for powder. I also let some go to seeds for winter sprouts. So versatile :-). Love Broccoli. Will try planting some in the summer too and see how goes.
😊 Thanks for posting. On Sweet Tomato Vine Homestead she's using her whole property as well growing food every way possible. Love how different gardeners in different states are using similar techniques to grow food. Look forward to the next video. Thanks.
I like in Southeast South Carolina, inland about 35 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. This year I started seeds in November and left them in small pots until about 5" tall. I transplanted One per pot in January. We had some short freezes and I covered them a few times but mostly they touched it out. On Fe. 7 we started eating nice heads. I did stagger some planting dates but now there's about 16 broccoli around the yard that'll be eaten and hopefully growing some small stalks and leaves until I'm ready to replace them with something else. I'm very pleased..
This was so helpful, thank you!!
Texas - 9b. I picked up a couple of plants about 3 weeks ago and planted them out in the garden.. a test 'batch' since I've not grown them before. So far they have been doing well. We've had a few over-nights dip into the mid to low 30s (F) and they seem to like it. I'm looking forward to harvesting them when the time comes since I have not grown it before. I did try from seed before but it was not the right time of the year so they did not turn out.
I just harvest the sprouts that keep on coming thru summer but I will plant again in aug ...thanks
We're in Iowa and February temps are already hitting 75 some days. It's pretty crazy! I think I may focus on broccoli in the fall if I can't make it work this season. I gardened my first season last year so I have a lot to learn.
Just happened to see this, and then realized I already had your book, Kitchen Garden Revival, when you mentioned it at the end. Great book, and now I'm a subscriber to your channel as well! Thanks for the advice here, will definitely give it a try here in Indiana.
I have been gardening here in SoCal for 25+ years and had similar results growing broccoli in the Spring though Summer months. For the last 10 or so years I have grown broccoli s a Winter crop and have had great success. Same goes for cauliflower.
best to grow in the fall when temps fall 80* or below 90 days to bloom
Interesting useful thanks👍
In California it depends on how close to the ocean you are for Spring broccoli success. Inland Fall broccoli or even winter broccoli is the best. I agree, Spring is too hot
since we have to harvest some brocolis (put in early summer)due to their ocasional flowering since january, their must be more decisive factors than just temp although we had a very mild january allowing me to prune fruit trees already w/o shirt in the sun some days (it should be colder & snowy still, we hadn't any snow all winter long at 500+m height !). our farmers use timetables of total accumulated sun hours for planning their crops such as barley (+/- 600h) unntil harvest . in greenhouses it's possible to work w/ light spectrum changes or by led composition or coloured foil sheets over its glass or polycarbonate walls/cover due to other eefects from red or blue lights. a chart considering 2 to 3 factors would express it more exactly when blossoms would start to flower. since midst january, we had untypically mild wheather (day's max. 12 - 18ºC/night's min. 0 - 6ºC i guess)
Maryland weather is hot and cold for most of spring so i agree starting in September maybe even October and summer can sometimes stay around in october! lol Our weather has been unpredictiable lately! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us Nicole! Maia
great video. 🎉
Broc. is something I always have trouble with.
Here in the Arizona low desert, broccoli is a winter crop. It's planted during the fall.
Same issue here in central Illinois. We get 90 in June and snow in October.
you just consider measured temps in the shadow, but for us & plants the FELT temps count (considering the wind speed chill factor & the sun exposure), so i'd suggest counting the temp in sun exposure, too for the vegies in this case ? for dark soil we have data: on a 36ºC sunny day, the soil heats up to 72ºC w/o mulch for still retaining 32ªC next morning at near sunrise.
California has every season the other 49 states have. Distance from the Pacific and elevation are critical, and the weather is cyclical year to year and variable daily. I learned something, thank you. I gave up growing broccoli because they disguise the aphis, and had small heads. California has had some triple digit early springs that cooled off then heated up for summer again. If the plants tolerate heat, and I have the water, fall harvest might work better.
Spring Rapini works great for me when planted in the fall. Zone 9b Texas. The leaves are more tender than other varieties. Eat them like you would spinach.
What part of Texas are you in? I’m in Zone 9b too in Houston area. I’m new to this and wondering what I can start now bc my hubby got me a raised bed for Christmas.
I know that 🥦 was the best broccoli you've ever had just from the pride in production alone 👏
I’m in California, we grow in fall and harvest in winter. Mine still flowers every winter even when it’s cold.
I've been experimenting a good bit with Broccoli in my area (Hudson Valley Area, New York).
My current experiment, I have broccoli in the garden right now as we speak. Planted it fairly late (around mid September after clearing space from other crops that were done) they got decent growth but not full size yet (two of them have small quarter size heads, the others haven't formed any head) it doesn't seem to have any issues with cold and snow (nor does my spinach).
I'm curious to see how it does in the spring. Fingers crossed.
I grow broccoli year round in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. My heads are usually huge!
Glad I watched this might toss my starts out.
I'm thinking that I could grow it as either a spring or fall crop in western Washington. I had a spectacular fail with all my cole crops in eastern Washington.
The central valley of CA grows most of the fruits and vegs for the whole country, lots of fertile soil
Fertility …..well it is sand.. but with sunshine and irrigation… no freezing temperatures..you can grow anything.. yes i was born and raised there. Atwater.
Texas I plant Cole Crops in early Oct and then plant every 2-4 weeks through Jan/Feb/Mar until there is not enough time for the plant to mature. We have a robust crop of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and sometimes Brussels sprout. We use 1/2 PVC pipe and bend across the raised beds and cover with frost cloth during freeze temps. BT spray works well on the green worms. Once you cut the broccoli head, keep fertilizer going for side shoots until it is too hot to keep the head from flowering.
anyway, we consume their stems & leaves, too ; just have to slice them for stirfrying it, flowers follow later. doing so, i had 2 blood tests (documented by public health), 1 before showing 7 picograms of free testosterone & next 1 month later showing 21 picograms, when i could repeat already in the gym machines for more than 1h w/o sored muscles.
You could also start the spring harvest broccoli 2-3 weeks earlier indoors or in the garden under a mini greenhouse cover, manage the heat as they grow, keeping it relatively cool, and then they'll be ready to harvest before they get exposed to temps over 75 F.
BTW, broccoli LEAVES are
de•li•cious!
They are sweet, tender, full of nutrients and phytonutrients. They make GREAT wraps for raw vegan burritos and rolls. They are a GREAT asset! And if you don’t like them, chickens, bunnies AND dogs love them, too!
How do you cook them?
@@bridgettewood1713 I don’t cook them. I use them RAW as a wrap. But you CAN cook them just like any other green. You could add them chopped to soups at the end for a vibrant green color.
Here is a quick and easy vegetarian version of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana. You could use the broccoli leaves instead of curly kale. Works great!
8 Not Chick’n cubes
8 c water
3 lb potatoes, sliced
1 lg onion, chopped
4 sm garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sage
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Three large handfuls chopped curly kale (or spinach or broccoli leaves)
1/2 c to 3/4 c heavy cream
Chop onion and slice potatoes in 1/4” “coins.”
Add to stockpot with water, No Chick’n cubes, spices and cook 12 minutes.
Add chopped kale (or spinach or broccoli greens)
Slowly add heavy cream.
Adjust seasoning, if necessary and serve.
Shade cloth in the spring.
wow
nice video
thanks for sharing
9likes
Pak Pro is a broccoli hybrid you can get continuous harvest from, could grow from transplant to harvest in both spring and fall, and harvest side shoots in between, overwintering in TN should be much easier than here in zone 5. You probably wouldn't even need the electric tower heater I have to use when it gets 25 F or below. Then you'll get harvest in later winter before the spring crop is full size.
In north texas its a early spring and fall crop
In my country Uganda, temperature goes sometimes over 80 and so most often weather is in predictable
Go Tennessee!!! ❤ oak Ridge baby!! 😂
So, if you live in warmer climates, plant later to have fall broccoli. Start seeds indoors 90 days. I live in WI and I have ADHD and this required a lot more concentration than I have and I don’t think it will help me at all. 😢
Hahaha I can only plant broccoli in the fall in Perth, Western Australia because we are way too hot for spring broccoli. Our seed packets here tell us to plant in fall ❤
In texas we consider broccoli a winter vegetable
I end up just eating the leaves. Same with Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
The only time you can plant broccoli in Southwest Florida is in the fall. And we have to put shade cloth on it.
Temps hit the 60s here in MS for a day or two and mine bolted to flower. sad times.
Where do you get seedlings in the fall?
Thank you. What about trying shade cloth? I put hoops on one bed and I'm going to try to keep the cool loving plants in there this year. I've had the same problem here in Western Canada. Spring has been late to get going and it's wet and cold, I get my stuff going and then it flips to hot and it all bolts.
Shade cloth would be helpful!
Cold water 3, 4 times a day an shade cloth helps.
@@keithschneider6348 Thanks. Currently Western Canada is experiencing June-uary 🤣 No need for cold water.
Last year in the spring here in N.Y for the first time ever i got beautiful broccoli. Started it same time in February and this spring so disappointed . Got hot to quick and bolted. All that nurturing was a waste. Gonna try again for fall.
Last year my broccoli started going to flower. I was so sad. I did get a few side shoots.
Have you ever tried putting a shade cloth over that spring broccoli when the temperatures are too hot?
Broccoli can grow indoors under a grow light, large flower head or small stalk head varieties. They usually taste better when grown in cooler temps though, and caterpillars & aphids can become a problem outdoors. I've harvested the big broccoli heads then kept the plant alive all winter in zone 5 then they grow side shoots in late winter/spring/summer/forever until the bugs ruin the plants bcz it's hard to keep trimming the side shoots to be a manageable plant, so it's easier to start new plants to grow big before the summer when the old plants have gone insane with side branches and the broccoli florets on them get too small and heat bitter flavor.
I’m in Chicago looking to relocate. Which of the 3 states is your favorite? I am retiring and looking for a safer area.
In California here. Does planting that in the fall does that help from getting aphids?
I have failed with broccoli for 10 years here in California. But I try every year.
Hi,I live in arbroath Scotland and I'm looking for some brocoli i could successfully grow in my climate ..? Love brocoli but I have never been successful in growing..cheers David
Do you have a way to keep the cabbage moths away? I always have troubles with those more than which end of growing season. Packman always worked for me in the spring. Also worked well in the fall. Got huge flowerettes.
Some people make little moth cutouts since the females are supposedly territorial. I think the best defense is just to use garden mesh so they can never land and lay eggs in the first place
I live in zone 8a, and yesterday, February 1st, it was 81* but today, February 2, it only got up to 59*, and at night, it's still really cold in the 20s or 30s
I just can't figure out how to grow Broccoli ,cabbage, and cauliflower. We have really cold winters. It hasn't been super bad this year I think our low this year was 7* degrees some years we are in the minus temperature, the problem is when I plant it in the fall it freezes and when I plant it early spring it gets hot so fast, we don't have spring here we only have Winter and Full blown Summer 115* degrees a lot of days.
I used to love summer and hate winter, but I have done a polar shift. I'm really hating the summer more and more. It's just so hot.
I'm thinking winter gardening would be much nicer.
Broccoli is a cold weather crop. Do you not plant yours in October or November?
Forspring better early variety I have kind of broccoli 60 days . Better chance to get broccoli , same kind can be use leter
houston...i hate houston...big mistake moving here...i can not wait to get out of here for sure. Moved from Cal to here and oh boy...what an experience...
Better pick it before it flowers!😂
Our temps are supposed to get into the teens next week which is really low for us. Should i go ahead and harvest my broccoli and lettuce?
I have had broccoli and lettuce plus several varieties of kale survive nights as low as 26° as long as the daytime temperature gets above freezing. If the daytime temperatures are below freezing also, these plants will survive only a short time. Temperatures into the teens however tend to kill most veggie plants so it would be wise to harvest your lettuce and broccoli before it gets that cold.
Might depend on variety. I have broccoli in the garden I plant in September, we've had snow, lows in the teens and they are still holding up quite well. I fully intend to overwinter them and see how they do in the spring.
From what I've seen so far spinach and broccoli can handle cold quite well. My lettuce is still hanging on (at least the last I looked a few days ago, its currently covered in snow) but it doesn't look like it will make it through the winter.
Overwintering is the way I got seeds from kale.
Just like growing wall flowers.
Do you save or store the leaves?
Usually toss them onto a stir fry last minute to wilt just a little bit
Is this the same for cauliflower?
Yup
When you have frost is it the right thing to do to water your plants before the sun hits them? Or is that a myth?
I try to water before the frost hits
Sooooo... fertilizers?? Watering??
How about when you have high 90's in September? 🤔 I guess wait until October? 😂
So what seeds did you use?
I don't remember now. Some of my favorite sources are Baker Creek, Southern Exposure, and Botanical Interests
Broccoli facts start at 3:00.
So I am guessing much like radishes, beets, and turnips you can eat the leaves? I have seen that cauliflower leaves are also edible. Such a waste to throw out the green leaves or not use while cooking! I love fresh beet greens, radish greens, and swiss chard so fast and easy to cook.
👍🏽
Grow green magic or gypsy . In the summer you need a bit of shade but broccoli is not hard to grow.
I made so much broccoli this year I got tired of picking it!
Vege boys grow it all the time in Pennsylvania
I thought everyone grew their broccoli, cabbage, collards, turnips, mustard greens, rutabagas, kale, cauliflower is in the fall and winter in the south anyway!
Yes ❤
I never get big heads of broccoli because my dogs eat them before that stage. LOL.
I planted it once and only got a little head.
Calabrese