Broccoli Early Purple Sprouting - Brassica oleracea italica

The germination temperature of the Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli is around 15° and takes about 14 days.

It can be sown in March under cover or directly in the ground from April to June for a harvest from late winter to late spring the following year.

You can either directly sow the seeds in place or prepare seedlings that will later be planted in their final position in the garden.

Preparing Seedlings: At home or in a heated greenhouse, from late autumn to late spring, or in a cold greenhouse or nursery for the rest of the year, sow the Broccoli seeds at a depth of 1 cm (0in) in a good seed compost. Lightly cover with compost or vermiculite. Remember to keep the substrate moist but not waterlogged!

When the young plants appear strong enough to handle, transplant them into pots and, for seeds sown under cover, gradually acclimatize them to cooler temperatures before transplanting them in the garden, when there is no longer any risk of frost.

Direct Sowing: In well-amended and finely worked soil, create furrows about 1 cm (0in) deep, spaced 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24in) apart. Sow the seeds and cover them with a thin layer of fine soil. When the seedlings are well-developed, thin them out, keeping only one plant every 60 cm (24in).

Cultivation:

Broccoli is a demanding vegetable that requires well-rotted, nitrogen-rich and potassium-rich soil. It is advisable, preferably in autumn, to generously apply mature compost (about 3/4 kg per m2) by scratching it into the soil to a depth of 5 cm (2in), after having loosened the soil as is done for all vegetable crops. It is not very tolerant of soil pH and it should be between 5.6 and 6.5. In acidic soil, it is necessary to gradually raise the pH by adding calcium in the form of Dolomite or Lime.

Broccoli, like all cabbages, is quite susceptible to diseases such as Clubroot and pests (Cabbage White Butterfly, Cabbage Fly, Flea Beetle, Ceidomyiid), so it is very important, for this crop, to practice crop rotation.

It is beneficial to associate it with many vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce. But avoid planting it near other Brassicas as well as courgettes, fennel, lamb's lettuce, leeks, and strawberries.