Broccoli is a highly nutritive, cool-season vegetable that is planted in the mid-spring season. This vegetable with a big green head on wide stalks is closely related to cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts and has high nutritional value.

This vegetable is rich in essential vitamins and minerals. This cole crop is a good source of Vitamin A, Fibre, iron, potassium, and folic acid. However, this vegetable takes a long time to mature. But the good thing is that the vegetable will keep producing smaller side shoots even after you harvest its main head. You can enjoy the yield for many months to come.

Before you plan on buying Mahindra tractor 575, take note of the factors that you must consider for growing this nutritional vegetable.

Factors to Consider for Growing Broccoli in India

Here are the factors related to soil, fertiliser, planting, and harvesting that you must ensure for quality broccoli production. 

1. Time for Planting Broccoli – Climate, Best Season & More

Maintain the temperature between 65° and 70°F (18° and 21°C) for broccoli cultivation. Moreover, it is necessary to plant this cole crop with sunlight exposure of 6-8 hours. Without enough sunlight, the plant will be thin & leggy with subpar heads. And prefer planting in a fertile, moist, and well-drained bed. 

During early spring, add rich compost (humus) or a thin layer of manure at least 2-4 inches deep. Moreover, soil can be slightly acidic, with a ph level ranging between 6.0 to 7.0.

• Ideal Planting Season for Broccoli

Broccoli is a cool-season crop. Therefore, it must be planted in mid-spring if it is an early summer crop. Or it could be in mid-to-late summer if it’s a fall crop. High temperatures should be avoided as they can hamper the development of the broccoli head, which is the main harvestable part.

• Temperature/Weather for Broccoli Cultivation

Broccoli seeds can germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40°F. Moreover, warmer soil is suitable as it speeds up seed development.

• Timeline for Spring Planting

Broccoli can be sown indoors or outdoors, most probably before your last spring frost date. You should set up a calendar to note down preferable dates according to your areas. If you are sowing indoors, start sowing 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. And while sowing outdoors, sow the seeds 2 to 3 weeks prior to the last frost date or in the spring (as soon as the soil can be worked on).

• Timeline for Fall Plantings

Sowing seeds outdoors at least 85 to 100 days before the first fall frost is ideal for fall plantings. This is when the soil & environment temperatures are high. And before planting, prepare the field by ploughing or harrowing until it achieves fine tilth. Make sure to use good quality tractors like Eicher 380 with disc harrow to help with better clods and lumps breakage.

2. Planting Guide for broccoli – Sowing Depth & Distance

For Outdoor Sowing

Sow seeds at least 1/2-inch deep & maximum of 3 inches apart. Moreover, once the seeds grow to a height of 2 to 3 inches, thin them to keep plants 12 to 20 inches apart.

Row-to-row Spacing

Keep the row spacing for broccoli at 3 feet. Experts say that closer spacing yields smaller heads but promotes more secondary heads.

Sidenote:

• During the planting phase, ensure watering the field enough times.
• If doing indoor sowing, you should keep the plants 2 to 20 inches apart in holes slightly deeper than their container depth. This is suitable for transplants that are 4 to 6 weeks old and have 4-5 leaves.
• You must fertilise broccoli 3 weeks after transplanting the seedlings.
• Start the thinning process when young plants reach a height of 2 to 3 inches.

3. Irrigation & Watering for Broccoli

Delivering the soil with consistent moisture with frequent watering or irrigation is important. More specifically, if there are drought conditions. You should water the crop at least one to a half inches weekly. 

However, ensure the developing broccoli heads aren’t wet, as this can cause root rot. Since the roots of this plant are very shallow, implement practices that don’t disturb the plants.

4. Harvesting of Broccoli – Timeline & Process

Broccoli can become ready to harvest within 50 to 90 days from transplanting. However, that timeline can depend upon the variety you are growing. Harvest broccoli when the main head appears 3 to 6 inches in diameter and flower buds are still tightly closed.

The best time to harvest broccoli is morning. Harvest when the heads are firm and tight in nature. And if yellow petals start appearing, this is the sign to harvest this crop. Waiting longer can impact the yield. 

How to harvest?

You should start by cutting heads from the plant by taking at least 6 inches of stem. Make a slanted cut on the stalk so that water can slide away. Doing this is necessary, as water can gather and rot the centre of a flat-cut stalk and further run the secondary heads.

Additionally, the side shoots develop even if the broccoli head is harvested. So you can harvest these shoots later during spring to fall (only if your summer isn’t too hot). Moreover, the broccolis are safe to store for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. And if you prefer washing it before storing it, ensure you dry it enough to avoid moisture retention. And the best thing is this vegetable can be blanched/frozen for up to 1 year.

Fun Facts About Broccoli Vegetables!

• Do you know roman people earlier used to call Broccoli “the five green fingers of Jupiter”?
• Earlier, people used to eat broccoli for its stem.
• Do you know one ounce of broccoli contains an equal amount of calcium as one ounce of milk?

Other Tips to Consider While Growing Broccolis

• Use a low-nitrogen fertiliser like the 5-10-10 formula.
• Add a layer of mulch to suffocate the weeds. Moreover, mulching will also help in keeping the soil temperature down.
• And by using row covers, you can minimise pests.
• Maintain an active feeding and watering schedule during the second head’s harvest after the first one is complete.

Hope these tips will help with the productive farming of broccoli in India. Hope these tips will help with the productive farming of broccoli in India. Hope these tips will help with the productive farming of broccoli in India.