Spring is in the air and if your anything like me, you just can't keep your hands out of the dirt.I love growing flowers, vegetables, herbs and my favorite weeds.So when the days begin to get warm, I look for new idea'sin my
gardening magazines and I found a treat that I thought you might enjoy.
Broccoli is one of those delicious vegetables I can eat everyday, cooked, raw, in salads or even just add it to your bake potatoes and you have a healthy meal that is high in vitamins A and C, riboflavin, iron, folare, niacin, and calcium. Being titled as the number one cancer-fighting vegetable. How can you go wrong?
This article takes you step by step and shows you how to grow the hearty and delicious plant.
Broccoli grows best
early til mid-season,
planting as early as possible is the best forthe
plants to grow only after the ground is thawed. These hardy plants require rich, loamy, well drained
soil high in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Working the soil at least two weeks before planting. Making sure the soil isn't acid. If you have this problem, the article suggestsadding ground limestone to sweeten the dirtto a pH about 6.7 to 7.0.
There is fourteen varieties of broccoli that you can grow during the whole planting season, Thebest broccoligrows when nights are 60 degrees to 70 at night and daytime temperatures stay below 80 degrees. If the weather is too hot can cause you plants to be bitter so someshade is a must for the really hot periods of summer.
Plant your seeds in doors five to seven weeks before the last frost is due in your area. The seeds germinate quickly, then transfer them to the outdoors after two to three weeks after the last frost. Spacing is critical, mulch will keep the weeds at bay and make sure you give plenty of water during the growing spurt. Do not water over the mature plants but keeping watering close to the ground to avoid damage to the buds called, buttoning.
Broccoli heads are actually immature flower clusters and the best harvesting when you find the buds feel loose. If your broccoli turns yellow, or it feels too hardyour broccoli isn't ready or it's too late for picking. Best time to check your plants early morning.
Like other plants this vegetable can become infested with bugs and disease. Common bug problems, cutworms, cabbage loopers, root maggots, cabbage worms. When disease hits your soil it's always bad news and may cause you to move your garden until the problem is fix. Otherwise it will just spread to other plants. Planting diseased resistant varieties and making sure at least three years before you can plant a cole crop again may be your only choice for a sucessful season. You'll find other insecticides that can be very useful as well if you have some of these problems. Little trick,after harvest to remove bugs soak your broccoli for about fifteen minutes withwater, vinegar and salt. The bugs will float to the surface, then rinse with cold water and enjoy!
Gardening is relaxing, and when your plants grow strong and healthy, your flowers bloom beautifully, there's nothing like the feeling you get from your garden.
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