Crops & Breeds › Vegetable Garden
🥦 Broccoli
Vegetable Garden · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 55 days – 110 days, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 8 days |
| Direct sowing | +10 days vs transplants |
| Spacing | 18″ in the row × 24″ between rows |
| Planted as | seed |
| Water | ~1–1.5 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Recommended planting window around Apr 1. Start seeds indoors ~6 weeks earlier.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 1 | Jul 3 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 23 | Jul 8 |
| Zone 5 | Apr 12 | Jul 21 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 1 | Aug 2 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 18 | Aug 23 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 1 | Sep 7 |
| Zone 9 | Feb 6 | Sep 22 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Broccoli Types
- Calabrese · 65 days · 1–2 lbs/plant — Standard big green head — the classic broccoli.
- Broccolini · 55 days · 0.5–1 lbs/plant — Slender stems (baby broccoli) — quick, cut-and-come-again.
- Romanesco · 80 days · 1–2 lbs/plant — Lime-green fractal heads — slower, wants a cool finish.
- Sprouting · 110 days · 1–2 lbs/plant — Many small purple shoots — long season, often overwintered.
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