Green in garden fresh on table. Welcome to asiangarden2table.
Broccoli is not originated from Asia.
Since it was introduced into China in 19 century, it has become more and more popular.
Broccoli likes mild weather, the best temperature is 59~72 F.
It can tolerate temperature as low as 42 F but will grow slowly,
as high as 77 F but its flower quality may be poor.
Although broccoli is available in stores all year round,
I still recommend you to grow them when it is the season in your area.
It is very easy.
Fresh broccoli tastes much better than what you get from supermarket.
Sometimes I share my extra broccoli with our friends.
One of our friend’s father actually came to me and told me that the broccoli from our garden was the best that he ever had,
although he eats broccoli every week for his whole life.
To grow broccoli with a big flower head, it is very important to start from good seeds.
I used to buy broccoli seeds from Homedepot and Lowes, different brands for three years in a row.
Unfortunately, these seeds did not produce any good quality flower.
The plant was tall and branched crazily.
At the end the flower head was tiny and loose.
It was very frustrating after spending so much time and effort.
I went on to purchase some seeds from other websites
which cost me more than 3 dollars per 30 seeds.
These seeds turned out great producing big and tight flower head.
Broccoli seeds are easy to germinate.
Since the seeds are expensive, I would recommend to sow 1~2 seeds in a cell
and only sow the quantity you can consume in 2~3 weeks one time
because the flowers head can be all ready at the same time.
Of course you can start more seeds in every 3 weeks so you will have your broccoli keep on producing.
In about a month, broccoli seedlings grow 4~5 leaves and are ready for transplanting.
Add a lot of organic fertilizer, turn over the soil and bury it deep.
Plant broccoli at least one foot apart at a sunny place.
In the next few weeks, broccoli will grow more and wider leaves.
Generally speaking, the longer broccoli takes to grow leaves, .
the bigger the plant will be and the flower head will be bigger in the future.
A good broccoli will grow no or very few branches
so the nutrients will be focused on main stem to develop a big flower head.
You may supplement some Potassium and phosphorous rich fertilizer if your plants look poor.
This will help to grow good quality flower.
At the end of leaf growing, from the center of a broccoli plant, flower head starts to develop.
Harvest your broccoli when the buds of the head are firm and tight before the heads flower.
If you see yellow petals, harvest immediately.
After main flower head is picked, broccoli will grow few side branches which will grow into flower head too,
although these side flower heads are much smaller.
Side flowers take much less time to grow
so for home gardeners it is worth to keep broccoli plant to produce some side flowers.
After the side branches finish producing, it is time to remove your broccoli plants.
Broccoli does take some time to grow but it does not require a lot of care.
It also has less bugs and diseases problem.
If you have ever had freshly-picked broccoli before,
you will agree with me that this fresh healthy and delicious vegetable deserves a spot in your garden.
We do carry broccoli seeds in our store with reasonable price.
They are what I have shown in this video.
If you are interested you can give them a try.
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Happy gardening! I will see you next time.