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VegetablesHardyBiennial
Broccoli (Sprouting)
Sprouting broccoli is grown for many slender tender spears harvested from late winter into spring, when little else is ready outside. It occupies space for a long season but earns it back with reliable cool-season harvests and excellent flavour after winter weather.
Basic information
Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Biennial
Hardiness
Hardy
Planting partners
3 companions · 1 crop to avoid
Growth profile
Days to harvest
240 days
Germination window
7–14 days
Germination temperature
10–20 °C
Plant spacing
60 cm
Row spacing
75 cm
Sowing depth
1.5 cm
Height
90 cm
Spread
60 cm
Calendar
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.
Notes
Sow Outdoors: Usually raised in modules or a seed bed outside and protected from slugs, then transplanted.
Care tips
Plant firmly into fertile ground in summer so roots establish before winter, and stake or support in exposed plots where rocking is likely. Pick spears as soon as they reach a good length, because prompt harvesting stimulates more shoots and keeps quality high.
Common pests
Cabbage root fly, caterpillars, clubroot, pigeons.
