Grow Your Own Broccoli Plant

You might have been told to eat your broccoli your whole life, but did you know it's a fairly new crop to American consumers? Broccoli wasn't commercially grown here until 1924, when the first ice-packed crop was shipped east from California. Broccoli didn't become a crop of any significance in the United States until after World War II.

Broccoli originated in the Mediterranean and has been enjoyed in Italy since the time of the ancient Romans in the 6th Century BCE. When first introduced to England in the mid-eighteenth century, it was referred to as “Italian asparagus.” Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, was a fan of broccoli, importing the seeds from Italy to plant at Monticello as early as May of 1767.

Keep reading to learn a little more about this often-overlooked vegetable and how you can grow your own broccoli at home.

(Prefer to listen? Check out Episode 41 of the Grow Your Self podcast to learn more fun facts about broccoli. Listen on Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio, or Stitcher.)

Is Broccoli Good for You?

You might not know it based on the fact that one president hated this vegetable so much he banned it from the White House, but broccoli is so, so good for you. Consumption of broccoli has jumped almost 950 percent during the last 25 years, and for excellent reasons.

Let's look at some broccoli nutrition facts:

• Want something high in Vitamin C but don't feel like eating fruit? Just one cup of raw, chopped broccoli has the same amount of Vitamin C as an orange—that's your entire daily need.
• One ounce of this super veggie has an equal amount of calcium as one ounce of milk. 
• Broccoli is high in Vitamin A, which helps fight cancer within your cells and keeps your eyes healthy by staving off glaucoma and other degenerative eye diseases.
• Broccoli also helps to promote healthy skin, break down urinary stones, and maintain healthy bones and teeth. 
• As you probably also know, broccoli is high in fiber. Not just soluble fiber but insoluble, as well. Since your body needs both types, it's great to know that broccoli can fulfill all of your fiber needs. 
• Finally, broccoli contains the flavonoid kaempferol, an anti-inflammatory that helps fight against cancer and heart disease, and that has been shown to be preventative in adult diabetes onset.

If all of those nutritional benefits aren’t enough to get you to start eating broccoli, I don’t know what will!

Is Broccoli Man-Made?

Broccoli, with its intensely green tree-like florets, is basically a man-made vegetable? What?!

Plant scientists and breeders developed broccoli by intensive breeding and crossbreeding of cabbage and other cruciferous crops. That helps to explain why people are often confused about which part of the plant they're eating when it comes to broccoli.

Wait, Is Broccoli a Vegetable or Is Broccoli a Flower?

It's both! That's right: Humans consume the flowers of several plants as vegetables, including broccoli.

There are two types of broccoli, heading and sprouting. Both are vegetables that have edible flowers (and leaves) that we can enjoy.

Heading Broccoli

Heading broccoli is the variety most familiar to those of us in the United States. The head of broccoli is actually the plant's buds. Left intact with the roots, these buds open to reveal small yellow flowers. We typically pick these flower buds before they open, when they're still green or purple, and enjoy them raw or cooked.

Sprouting Broccoli

Sprouting broccoli has a similar taste but grows dense purple or white heads, rather than the green heads we're used to at the grocery store. The white heads can look similar to cauliflower. The florets of sprouting broccoli are typically a bit smaller as well.

Does Broccoli Give You Gas?

Ready to learn the science behind broccoli and gas? I’m sure your 10-year-old-self will find this interesting…

Intestinal gas is usually caused by either taking too much air into your digestive tract or by bacteria breaking down food in your intestine, which is the case with broccoli. This happens, primarily, because of the presence of a sugar in broccoli called raffinose. Humans lack the enzyme to break down raffinose, which means it doesn't get broken down in the small intestine. Instead, raffinose gets passed down to the large intestine, where bacteria attempt to break it down as much as possible. This process can produce a lot of gas, particularly if you aren't used to eating foods with raffinose in them.

Supplements that contain the enzyme alpha-galactosidase can break down the raffinose in broccoli, which can potentially help prevent gas formation, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. You can also help your stomach learn how to better digest raffinose by eating more foods high in raffinose, which include beans (the magical fruit!), cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus.

How Broccoli Is Grown Currently

Although it may be known as the "Golden State", California produces 90 percent of our nation’s broccoli. Considering that California also holds the title of “Kale Growing Capital", maybe we should rename California the "Green State.” Arizona and Texas finish out the top three broccoli-producing states, but produce less than 10 percent of production in the United States.

The reason so much broccoli is grown in California is due to temperature. Throughout this plant's history, it hasn't really been possible to grow broccoli in warmer weather. That could be changing.

A team of plant scientists at Cornell University are working to create a new version that can thrive in hot, steamy summers and that is easy and inexpensive to grow in large volumes. “If you’ve had really fresh broccoli, you know it’s an entirely different thing,” lead scientist Thomas Bjorkman said. “And if the health-policy goal is to vastly increase the consumption of broccoli, then we need a ready supply, at an attractive price.”

This new broccoli is just a part of the scientific mad dash to remake much of the produce aisle. The goal is to help shift American attitudes toward fruits and vegetables by increasing their allure and usefulness in cooking, while maintaining or even increasing their nutritional loads.

Two years of successful trials have made the hot-weather broccoli plants ready for farming, though it may be several more years before East Coast grocers start selling the local florets. This perfect broccoli may challenge a purist's view of food. Critics are generally fine with the science, which involves fairly traditional forms of biotechnology, like using petri dishes to mate broccoli with radishes and other plants that would never hook up on their own, and selecting genes through this breeding that can minimize production costs and maximize consumer appeal.

What are your thoughts? Would you rather eat modified broccoli that is grown locally or eat old-school broccoli trucked from California?

My Favorite Broccoli Varieties to Grow

Calabrese broccoli is the traditional variety. Then there's Chinese broccoli, also known as gai lan, kai lan, or Chinese kale. Bimi broccoli is a new super vegetable that's actually a fun cross between broccoli and a leafy green from China. There's also tenderstem broccoli, or broccolini.

Romanesco broccoli is a variety of broccoli created from the union of traditional broccoli and cauliflower. If you're into fractals, give this one a try.

Purple broccoli, AKA broccoli of Sicily, is very similar to common broccoli, except that the heads have a purple color and are smaller, but its flavor is the same as that for traditional broccoli.

The Best Broccoli Companion Plants

Avoid planting broccoli with other vegetables in the cabbage family, as they may attract more of the same pests. It's important to plant broccoli next to plants that don't mind shade and don’t need a lot of room in the late spring and early summer when broccoli is at its largest and most beautiful stage. 

Some plants actually help improve the flavor of broccoli when planted nearby:

• Celery
• Potatoes
• Onions

Other plants that are an aromatic help to repel common garden pests that feed on broccoli: 

• Chives
• Dill
• Rosemary
• Mint
• Garlic
• Thyme

Broccoli Growing Season and Sunlight Requirements

Broccoli loves cooler temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It also prefers cooler soil temperatures between 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. While broccoli seeds will germinate in temperatures as low as 40 degrees, the process may take two or three times as long, depending on the variety.

This temperature preference might not sound like much, but it's one of the main reasons why broccoli can be so hard to grow (and why it's traditionally been grown mainly in just one state).

Here's the thing: Broccoli requires at least 60 days (sometimes as many as 100) of temps between 45 and 85 degrees to complete its growth. It also needs 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. If your cool season falls during the short days of winter, this makes meeting broccoli's ideal growing conditions difficult. Winter sun is very different from summer sun, and spaces that receive lots of summer sun all day long might struggle for enough winter sun. Ideally, broccoli should be planted in a southern-facing location away from any large structures that might block winter sun. If broccoli doesn't receive enough sun, the head won't form.

Plus, of course, winter temps can be persnickety, ranging from polar vortexes to random heat waves with temps in the 80s. These wide temperature ranges and its long growing time make broccoli a more difficult vegetable to grow.

Start Broccoli by Seed Indoors to Maximize Growing Time

Because broccoli takes about 60 days, or eight weeks or so, to grow from seed until it's ready to harvest, I recommend starting broccoli by seed indoors or purchasing plant starts from a local organic nursery.

It's a good idea to start seeds indoors before the soil is even warm enough to plant in. The broccoli seedlings will need about 30 days inside before being planted in rows when your soil can be worked in the spring.

If all this sounds like a lot of trouble, here's another option:

Grow Broccoli Microgreens

Broccoli sprouts and broccoli microgreens are a popular health food in the U.S. Broccoli makes for a great vegetable to grow as a microgreen because the entire plant is edible, even if consumed raw. Plus, you get all the nutrition of a full-grown broccoli head without the long wait. Learn more about growing microgreens at home.

How to Care for Broccoli Plants

Broccoli requires full sun and moist, fertile soil that’s slightly acidic.

Transplant your broccoli plant to the garden once the temperature is ideal. Space each plant 3 feet apart in rows. Use a floating row cover or garden mesh just after planting through harvest to prevent caterpillars.

Water in plants well over the first two weeks. While you wait for the plant to grow, these are your four main tending tasks:

Feed

Broccoli is a heavy feeder. Fertilize three weeks after transplanting with some fresh organic compost.

Water

Provide consistent soil moisture with regular watering, especially if you're not getting much rain, since the roots of broccoli plants are pretty shallow. When you water, avoid getting developing broccoli heads wet.

Support

Once broccoli has developed its first few sets of leaves, it can benefit from hilling. This is when you add fresh compost around its base. Broccoli can become a little top-heavy as it grows. If needed, use a stake and some twine to support your growing broccoli plant.

Prune

Prune back excess broccoli leaves and make sure that each plant is getting good airflow by keeping a good distance from neighbors. These broccoli leaves that you've cut, by the way, are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked.

How Broccoli Grows

Broccoli forms a tighter and tighter flower cluster, swelling larger and growing daily. While this happens over a period of weeks, you can actually harvest at any point. The trick is waiting long enough to get a good harvest but not too long—otherwise, the broccoli florets will turn yellow and burst into flower.

If your broccoli flowers before you can harvest it, don't worry. The plant is still edible. The flavor, however, might change a bit.

Common Broccoli Growing Problems

I like to say broccoli and cauliflower are not for beginners. They're too picky about their growing conditions to make things easy on gardeners, and as you can see from the host of problems below, many things can go wrong during the long time broccoli will spend in your garden growing.

Here are common problems and how to prevent or solve them.

Problem: Broccoli turning yellow

Nitrogen deficiency: If the bottom leaves turn yellow and the problem continues toward the top of the plant, then your broccoli plant is suffering from nitrogen deficiency.

Solution

Give your plant a high nitrogen (but low phosphorus) fertilizer or blood meal. Blood meal is a quick nitrogen fix for yellowing leaves.

Problem: Broccoli worms eating leaves

If you've ever checked on your garden and wondered why there are holes in your broccoli plant's leaves, you've got broccoli worms or caterpillars, most likely cabbage loopers or cabbageworms. You'll know there's a pest issue if you see small holes on the leaves between the veins.

Solution

Look on the underside of the leaves for small green caterpillars, and pick them off by hand if the problem is small. If it's out of control, use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a natural bacterial pesticide. Again, cover your plants just after planting with garden mesh to deter caterpillars.

Problem: Broccoli leaves wilting

If your plants are wilting suddenly, it may be due to a fungus called clubroot in the soil. The entire plant, including all roots and root tendrils, must be gently dug up and removed. If the roots are gnarled and misshapen, then clubroot is the problem.

Solution

Act quickly to remove the affected plants so that the fungus doesn’t continue to live in the soil. Do not compost the plants. Raise the pH of your soil to above 7.2. You may need to sterilize your soil too.

Problem: Yellow patches appearing on broccoli leaves

This is typically a sign that moist weather has caused downy mildew.

Solution

Keep leaves as dry as possible with good air circulation. Buy resistant varieties.

Problem: Broccoli leaves curling

Curling leaves are often a sign that the plant's sap is being sucked by insects, typically aphids.

Solution

Apply soapy water to all sides of leaves whenever you see aphids.

How to Harvest Broccoli

Even though broccoli generally prefers cooler—not cold—weather, the heads are actually better if picked after the first frost of the season (if you're growing broccoli in the fall or winter).

Broccoli plants produce only one main stem with a center head, but some varieties will produce side shoots, which are much smaller heads of broccoli that form along the sides of the plant. Cut the base of the floret and leave the main plant to keep growing. It might continue to produce side shoots for several weeks, if weather conditions remain optimal.

Broccoli should be cooled with packed ice immediately after harvest. Broccoli can be blanched and frozen for up to one year. Broccoli that is cooled and maintained at 32°F with 95 to 100 percent relative humidity can be stored for 10-14 days.

Broccoli vs Cauliflower

Both broccoli and cauliflower are low-calorie foods. Both vegetables pose a common side effect: gas or bowel irritation. Like most vegetables, however, the health benefits of broccoli and cauliflower far outweigh the adverse effects.

It's also important to remember that broccoli and cauliflower contain the lowest amounts of pesticide levels, according to the Environmental Working Group. This indicates that it is safer to buy conventional broccoli and cauliflower, though it's still wise to purchase organic whenever possible.

Let's look at how they stack up.

• Broccoli has a little bit more protein.
• Broccoli has 6 grams of carbs, and cauliflower has 5 grams—so they're pretty tied there.
• Broccoli has more fiber, almost double the calcium, and also close to double the amount of vitamin C. 
• As far as iron, magnesium, zinc, and phosphorous, broccoli has a slight edge. 
• Cauliflower has a bit more potassium and folate though. 
• Broccoli contains 11% of your daily vitamin A, while cauliflower has none.
• Finally, one cup of broccoli gives you more vitamin K than you need in a day. Because of this high amount of vitamin K, broccoli may interfere with blood-thinning medications.

Although both vegetables are packed with nutrients and are very good for you, broccoli is the clear winner because of its protein, calcium, and vitamin C amounts. When in doubt, chose broccoli, the Tony Stark of vegetables.

Thanks for bringing back the kitchen garden with me, whether you're growing broccoli sprouts or whole heads!