Broccoli

Origin & history

Broccoli developed in southern Italy from the wild cabbage of the Mediterranean coast; its name comes from the Italian brocco, “shoot”. In Germany it was barely known until after the war and only established itself in vegetable beds from the 1970s onwards. What you harvest is botanically a flower head: hundreds of still-closed buds that open within a few days in warm weather.

Varieties

Almost everything on sale is an F1 hybrid: these produce very uniform heads, but the heads then all mature in the same week. Open-pollinated varieties ripen less evenly — often an advantage in a home garden — and can be saved and re-sown. Alongside the heading types there are sprouting ones (stem or sprouting broccoli) that produce many thin shoots instead of one big head from the outset; early varieties are ready about ten weeks after planting, late ones need up to four months.

Care

Broccoli is a hungry crop and needs water continuously from planting on — if it dries out while the head is forming, the head stays small and the buds turn coarse. A top dressing of compost or hoof-and-horn about four weeks after planting makes a visible difference. Mulching keeps the soil evenly moist and cool, which helps more in high summer than any feeding; earth up tall plants a little in autumn so they do not blow over.

What can go wrong

The commonest nuisance is cabbage white caterpillars eating their way into the head — fine insect netting from planting day solves this completely, otherwise the yellow egg clusters on the leaf undersides have to be rubbed off weekly. In heat broccoli bolts: the buds open into yellow flowers and the head is just greenery — when in doubt, cut two days early. Clubroot, recognisable by swollen, knobbly roots and plants wilting despite moist soil, persists in the ground for years; so bring brassicas back to the same bed after four years at the earliest, and remove affected plants along with their roots.

Harvest, storage & kitchen

Cut while the buds are still tightly closed and dark green, ideally early in the morning; take the top 10 to 15 cm of stalk with it — peeled, it is every bit as tender as the head. Broccoli only keeps a few days in the fridge but freezes well: break into florets, blanch for two to three minutes and plunge straight into iced water. The young leaves can be cooked like any leaf cabbage.

Frequently asked questions

When is broccoli ready to harvest in Germany?

From late June to the end of October, staggered by planting date. Planting runs from late April to mid-July, and autumn batches usually give the firmest heads, because buds develop more slowly in cool weather and open later.

Is broccoli winter hardy?

No. It shrugs off light autumn frosts but not a hard winter, so harvest ends at the end of October. Fleece over the last batches often buys another week or two; if you want a brassica that stands all winter, kale is the better choice.

Do broccoli seedlings need pricking out?

Only if they were sown thickly in a tray: as soon as the first true pair of leaves shows, move each seedling into its own pot, sinking it almost to the seed leaves. Sown straight into module trays, the step is not needed at all.

Does broccoli produce more after the main head?

Yes — smaller side shoots come from the leaf axils and can be cut for another four to six weeks. Take the main head off with a slanting cut so water cannot sit on the stump, keep watering, and give the plant one more feed of compost.