How to Grow Broccoli? A Newbie-Friendly Guide to Growing Broccoli
Broccoli is one of those super foods, an all-time favorite, crisp, nutritious vegetable that makes you want to always have it available. But you don’t want to keep having to go to the market to buy it. You want it fresh out of the garden. Who wouldn’t love to have broccoli ready at their disposal on the regular?
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This particular vegetable offers a sharp distinctive flavor with many varieties to choose from, from the well-loved big-headed versions to the spicy Raab on to Romanesco and then you have sprouting. There are certain kinds of broccoli that will focus on a main flower head with others that sprout much smaller singular florets. It’s so good by itself or you can dress it up with condiments or cheese. It may be a bit complex as a novice gardener to try to learn to grow this vegetable from seed, but I’m sure we're all up for the challenge.
Tools Needed When Growing Broccoli From Seed
In order to grow broccoli from a seedling there are several supplies that you'll need to have on hand:
Then as the seedlings grow and are ready to be placed in the garden, you’ll need:
The basic steps that you’re going to follow in order to learn how to grow broccoli are summarized here briefly for you and then we will expand each step individually.
Now that you have an idea of the process, let’s break everything down for you.
Growing Broccoli From Seed
In order to start growing your broccoli from seed there’re some things you need to know about the vegetable first.

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Broccoli is a brassica and belongs to the cabbage family of plants. Growing broccoli from the seedling can prove to be a bit arduous and time-consuming to a beginner, but overall it isn’t difficult.
Broccoli is very cold hardy and requires minimal maintenance. The best way to start seedlings if you live in a colder climate is with seedling trays or a seed-starting kit which is how we’re going to learn. Warmer climates will be able to plant directly into the garden.
Reading the seedling packet will give you the zones and what is recommended for your particular climate and area.
When To Plant Your Broccoli Seeds
There are going to be different growing requirements based on what variety of broccoli seedlings you purchase, so it’s going to be, again essential to read exactly what the requirements are for the particular version that you get as far as the starting dates.
Typically, seedlings should get started inside your home approximately 4 to 6 weeks prior to the last frost. But if you are in a warmer climate area, the seedling can go directly in the garden once the soil becomes workable in the springtime.
How Deep Does The Broccoli Go In The Soil
For broccoli seeds you are to plant them two times deeper than the width of the seedling. They are really tiny, so that would mean approximately ⅛” to approximately ¼” deep.
Seedling Maintenance
After you have the seeds in the soil the maintenance process begins.
Planting the Broccoli Into Your Garden

Before the seedlings go into your garden from the seedling tray, you want to see the first several sets of real leaves. The seeds are extremely frost hardy and are able to go in the garden 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost of spring.
Conclusion
Learning how to grow broccoli from seedling can be a little daunting at first, but once you do it, it’s loads of fun with lots of different varieties to experiment with.
If you liked this article, let us know in the comments, and let us know if this growing method worked for you!