Organic gardeners should make room in the home garden for the versatile and healthful cruciferous vegetable that is broccoli. Even gardeners who haven’t been broccoli lovers in the past might change their minds when tasting a fresh stalk, as broccoli that remains on the grocer’s shelf too long develops unpleasant sulfurous compounds.
The leaves, stems, and flowers of broccoli plants are all edible, although many gardeners prefer the heads, which are actually unopened flower clusters. Broccoli plants require little care, and are ideal for the beginning gardener.
Broccoli Varieties
When choosing broccoli varieties for the home vegetable garden, one can shop for seeds that bear stress-resistant plants or novelty broccoli plants one can’t find in the store. Organic seeds are available for ‘Belstar,’ a hybrid broccoli that performs best in mild spring and fall weather. Gardeners who save seeds can grow the heirloom seeds of ‘De Cicco,’ which yields a long harvest due to the side shoots it produces. ‘Early Purple Sprouting’ provides beautiful amethyst shoots for salads, but turns green upon cooking.
image from pixabay
Broccoli Planting and Care
Gardeners who want a spring crop of broccoli can start seeds indoors or buy transplants to set out after the last frost date. Gardeners can also start seeds directly in the garden in early fall, although more vigilance is required to deal with the abundant insect pests present at this time.
Broccoli plants are simple to care for, thriving in average soil in a sunny spot. Gardeners should care for broccoli plants during the short growing season by providing steady moisture, and a side dressing of compost to provide a steady stream of nutrients. Excessive fertilizing of broccoli plants encourages leaf development at the expense of the broccoli heads.
Broccoli Pests
Cabbage loopers may have the charm of an inchworm exploring the garden, but these pests can damage leaves and broccoli heads. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis to paralyze the caterpillars’ digestive system, handpick large worms, and attract natural predators like parasitic wasps with nectar rich flowers.
Cabbage root maggots are attracted to overly rich soil, especially when manure is used. Gardeners that see the adult dark gray flies hovering around plants should use floating row covers to prevent the flies from laying eggs in the soil.
Broccoli Diseases
Club root is the primary fungal disease that troubles broccoli plants in the garden. If gardeners observe wilting or yellowing leaves, they can pull up a plant to check for thickened, gnarled roots that signal club root. Destroy any affected plants, improve drainage by incorporating organic matter, and maintain a soil pH of approximately 7.2. If this disease continues to be a problem in the garden, a five to seven year crop rotation plan must be enacted so that no members of the cabbage family are planted in the same spot to decrease the fungal count in the soil.
Sources
http://extension.illinois.edu/veggies/broccoli.cfm
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/broccoli.html