How to grow Broccoli
Broccoli is a cool-season cruciferous vegetable prized for its nutrient-dense green flower heads and tender stalks. Home gardeners love growing it because it's rewarding, relatively straightforward, and produces multiple harvests if managed well.
At a glance
🌱 Grow your Broccoli with GardenDex
- Reminders to water it, timed to your weather and whether it's in a pot
- Frost and disease alerts for your garden, the night before
- Follow it from seed to harvest, and see what your garden grew in $
- Point your camera at any plant or bug to identify it
🗓️ When to plant
For spring harvest, sow seeds indoors in late winter and transplant after the last frost; for autumn harvest, sow seeds in mid to late summer so plants mature in cooler weather.
🌰 How to plant
- Start seeds indoors 4–6 weeks before transplanting, or sow directly in the garden in cooler months.
- Transplant seedlings when they have 3–4 true leaves, spacing them 45–60 cm apart.
- Bury seedlings slightly deeper than they were growing to encourage strong roots.
- Water gently after planting and keep soil consistently moist until established.
💧 Care
- Water deeply and regularly; broccoli needs consistent moisture, especially during head formation.
- Mulch around plants to retain soil moisture, regulate temperature, and suppress weeds.
- Feed with nitrogen-rich fertilizer every 3–4 weeks or use a balanced vegetable fertilizer.
- Remove yellowing or damaged leaves and monitor for pests weekly.
- Provide shade cloth during extremely hot spells to prevent premature bolting.
🧺 Harvest
Harvest the main head when it's 10–20 cm (4–8 in) across and tightly budded, before florets begin to loosen, by cutting the stalk with a sharp knife. Continue harvesting smaller side shoots that develop after the main head is removed.
🐛 Common problems
Cabbage moths and loopers: Cover young plants with row cloth, handpick caterpillars, or spray with neem oil or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
Powdery mildew: Ensure good air circulation, avoid wetting foliage, and spray with sulfur or a fungicide if needed.
Clubroot: Rotate crops, lime acidic soil to raise pH above 6.8, and remove infected plants immediately.
Bolting (premature flowering): Choose bolt-resistant varieties, keep soil consistently moist, and provide afternoon shade in hot weather.
🤝 Companion plants
💚 Good neighbours: Beets, Onions, Potatoes, Carrots
⚠️ Keep apart from: Tomatoes, Strawberries, Pole beans
More vegetables guides
General guidance; local conditions vary. All care guides · Privacy