How to grow them
It dislikes being moved, so sow in modules and plant out with the root ball whole, or sow two or three seeds where each plant is to grow and thin to one. Keep it watered in dry spells or it will flower too early.
Cabbage family
Broccoli (calabrese)
The green broccoli of the supermarket, ready in about twelve weeks.
- Buy as
- Seed
- Space
- 30cm between plants, 45cm between rows
- Position
- Full sun
- Rotation
- Cabbage family
- Difficulty
- Needs a little care
The year
Sow indoors
Sow outdoors
Plant out
Harvest
When to pick
Cut the central head while the buds are tight. Smaller side shoots follow for several weeks.
What goes wrong
Problems, and what to do
Caterpillars
Net from planting. They hide inside the heads.
Bolting
Small, loose heads after a check. Water steadily.
Clubroot
Lime and rotate, as for cabbages.
Good neighbours: Nasturtiums, Onions.
Same family
More from cabbage family
CabbagesWith the right varieties you can cut a cabbage in every month of the year.
KaleThe toughest green on the plot. It stands through snow and feeds you in the hungry gap.
Purple sprouting broccoliIt takes nearly a year, and repays you with fresh greens when the plot has little else.
Brussels sproutsA long wait and a lot of space, for sprouts that taste nothing like the boiled ones of memory.
CauliflowersThe hardest of the family to grow well, and the most satisfying when you do.
SwedesA winter root that looks after itself. It is a brassica, so it goes in the cabbage bed.
TurnipsFast, and far better small. Pulled at golf-ball size they are sweet enough to eat raw.
RadishesSeed to plate in four weeks. The crop to sow with children, or between slower rows.