Growing Broccoli

Brassica sp. : Brassicaceae / the mustard or cabbage family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  S               S    
    T               T T

(Best months for growing Broccoli in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 45°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 14 - 20 inches apart
  • Harvest in 10-16 weeks. Cut flowerhead off with a knife..
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, chamomile, oregano)
  • Avoid growing close to: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chilli, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard

Your comments and tips

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24 Jul 18, Steve (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I'm growing broccolini, they are shooting but they're changing into yellow flowers. what should I do? this is my first time ever that I'm trying growing them. Thanks
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25 Jul 18, Frank (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
You should have picked them before they flowered.
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25 Jul 18, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You have left it too late. You pick before they flower.
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26 Jul 18, Edna Brady (Australia - temperate climate)
Eat them anyway,they are still nice in meals, flowers and all...They sometimes just get a bit tough!
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14 May 18, declan kearney (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
is broccoli a vegetable that will grow with low maintence
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15 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Unless you live in a very bug and disease free area, most plants need regular attention. If grown in good soil and watered every few days broccoli will grow very well as long as you have no grubs. If you have grubs (from moths) - the plants may look great one day and a few days later the heart of the plant could be eaten out. That is the end of that crop/plant.
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01 Apr 18, Heather curtis (Canada - Zone 3a Temperate Short Summer climate)
It is the beginning of April, can I plant my seeds for Broccoli now.
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23 Feb 18, Marjorie (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, one of my broccoli plants have a head already and we had cut the head off. Should I remove the plant now? thanks!
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26 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You can let it develop small side shoots. Depends when you want to replant that area with new seeds/plants.
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15 Feb 18, Mike L (Australia - arid climate)
I am going to try planting broccoli in late Feb, its extremely hot here at the moment 42C. I just want to start early and plant every two weeks or so , semi commercial. Once spring comes, the diamond back moth comes out of the drying crops and is almost impossible to control. Any comments? any pointers?
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Showing 71 - 80 of 315 comments
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This has happened to me a couple of times in the South too, with various cole crops. Have you grown this variety of broccoli in this location and at the same time of year before, with success? The reason I ask is, some brassicas require vernalization (a sufficient number of cold temperatures before they flower/head) and some types may be photoperiod sensitive (waiting for days to get short enough/long enough to trigger flowering/heading). Did you have an especially warm winter? Definitely make sure you're growing a variety that's best suited to your latitude, and are growing it at the suggested time of year. I hope you at least got to eat your plants! The leaves are a delicious consolation prize. Also! Important tip: always leave broccoli roots in the ground when you harvest the plants. Decaying broccoli roots are toxic to verticillium dahliae, a stubborn soilborne fungus. Broccoli is worth growing for that reason alone!

- colleen

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