Broccoli is one of the world’s most consumed and extremely nutritious vegetable that grows in many regions. As nutritious as it is, Broccoli plantation is rather simple and does not require a lot of resources. Broccoli is scientifically referred to as Brassicaoleracea and belongs to the Brassicaceae family to genus Brassica.
The plant has a big flowering head and it edible for most of its part. The head is attached with stalk and some leaves that are also consumed as food. The vegetable is rich in Vitamin C and K and has more than enough amounts of Sulphur.
Broccoli grows as a biennial plant and needs cool seasons for its growth and initiation. However, it is not until warm season’s beginning that the edible flower head is ready for harvest. It has bluish-green flower buds a thick stalk that holds the flower heads up. The buds have to be removed from the stalk and eaten before they bloom.
Different Types Of Broccoli
Following are the top most famous Broccoli plant types that are grown in most home kitchen gardens:
Belstar: It is a hybrid Broccoli type that grows quite well in the southern parts of the world. Its heads are around 6-8 inches and take up their edible size and form in no more than 65 days. This variety can be harvested both in spring and fall.
Calabrese: It is an Italian broccoli type that has a medium sized head. This one also gets ready for harvest in 65 days and can be grown on a variety of lands.
Destiny:This one is a hybrid bred and is perfect for plantation in zones where heat is at times extra intense. You can expect it to have full-ready, edible, purple-colored heads in 70-80 days.
DiCicco:This is another Italian type that grows best in zone 3-10 and has non-uniform greenish heads. Since not all the edible flower heads of this plant grow together, it is great for home gardens with less space.
Purple Sprouting:This one is a cold and hard edible broccoli with small purplish flowers. There are no single large heads per plant like other broccoli types. Rather, the small flowers on different plants develop into a plant later.
Broccoli Harvest Time
Broccoli grows best in cool weathers and is harvested before the temperature rises than 24 degrees Celsius. You have to wait for the last days of spring frost to be able to plant the Broccoli outdoors. However, around 5 weeks prior to the last spring frost, you better start planting the seeds indoors in smaller pots. These growths can then be transplanted outdoors once you are sure of spring frost going away in 20 days.
You can also take 3 weeks old Broccoli plants from nurseries and grow them directly in the outdoor soil bed. Broccoli takes around 50 to 70 days before you can harvest it. Usually the harvest time is when the broccoli develops its full head that almost never happens unless it is around mid-summer.
Broccoli Water And Light Requirements
Even as a plant that starts hardening in the cool season, Broccoli needs full sunlight for around 8 hours a day to be able to develop full head and become edible.
As for the water requirements, this plant need a consistent flow of moisture between its roots and other parts. This means, unless it rains, you need to water the plant daily or at least 4 times a week. Do not over water the beds. Just pour enough water to cover the soil in a thickness of around 1 to 1.5 inches before it dries out.
How To Grow Broccoli
A cool season plant, Broccoli can be easily grown in your kitchen garden provided you take the appropriate soil preparation and plantation measure. Following are the steps you should undertake if you want to plant broccoli the right way:
First of all, you need to prepare the soil for Broccoli plantation. This vegetable grows best where its gets around 6 to 8 hours of sun exposure each day. Select the area that fulfils this sunlight requirement and then work on its soil.
Prepare a humid and moist soil bed with proper drainage system and ensure its pH between 6 and 7 i.e., a bit acidic.
Use manure, compost, and other fertilizers to make the soil rich and better prepared for the growth. Make sure the organic matter reaches up to 4 inches deep down the soil.
Now, take the seeds and sow each of these around half an inch deep in the soil. Make sure you sow all the seeds with a distance of around 3 inches between them.
If you have already started the plant indoors, make sure you transplant the grown plants outdoor around 20 inches apart and a little deeper in the soil.
Once planted, water the bed in a way that the water stands a few inches above the soil before drying out. Make sure you water the plant daily.
Common Pests And Diseases
Thecommon Broccoli issues are as follows:
Cut worms and Cabbage Worms:Moths and worms can affect the production of broccoli plant. You must make amendments for their removal either through handpicking or spraying.
Broccoli Diseases: All the diseases common with cabbage family including clubroot, mildews, others are susceptible to broccoli as well. Either plant the hybrid, resistant varieties or keep an eye on the plant to remove the infected part right away.
Remedies And Caring Tips For Disease Prevention
Even when it is not a sensitive plant as such, Broccoli crop requires a lot of attention and care if you really want it to grow and be able to produce edible flower heads. Take the following basic steps to make sure of your Broccoli plant’s health:
Keep The soil moist and well-hydrated throughout the seasons. Reduce the amount of water you give to the plants once they reach a mature age.
Always give water at the soil level. Do not spray the leaves directly.
Once at the beginning and then in the middle of season, dress the soil with organic compost
Always make sure that the beds are weed free
Use insecticides and sprays to make sure the crop is not affected by pests and infections
