In this video I demonstrate growing broccoli plant from seeds to final harvest. Broccoli plants are easy to grow at home garden and in pots.
Broccoli is a large plant and it’s natural to wonder why or how someone would grow it in pots. The main reason is to save space. Normally, if you live in an apartment or have a small yard, it would be difficult to find a place to plant it, as it can spread three to four feet! Growing broccoli in a pot means that even if you are pressed for space, you can grow a delicious crop on your terrace, balcony, patio or small backyard.
Growing in pots is a great way to get fresh vegetables, even if your soil is poor or non-existent. Broccoli lends itself very well to container life and is a cool weather crop that you can plant in late summer or fall and still eat. Keep reading to learn how to grow broccoli in containers.
Broccoli is perfectly happy when grown in pots. However, it has a very wide spread, so plant only one in a 5-gallon (19L) container. A 15-gallon (57 L) pot or container holds two to three plants.
If planting in the fall, start seeds about a month before the first average frost. Either plant them directly in a container or start them indoors – broccoli seeds germinate at 23-27°C and may not germinate outside if temperatures are still too hot. If you started them indoors, harden off your seedlings by placing them outside for a few hours a day for two weeks before moving them outside permanently.
Even after germination, growing broccoli in pots requires attention to temperature. Containers, especially black ones, can get very hot in the sun and you don’t want your broccoli container to exceed 27°C. Avoid black containers if at all possible and try to position the plants so that the broccoli is in partial shade and the container is in full shade.
There are two ways to approach growing this large cruciferous plant in a pot. You can either plant one in each 12-by-12-inch pot, giving the leaves and heads the recommended space—about a foot or more between plants in an outdoor garden.
Or you can collect several plants and enjoy slightly smaller main heads but more secondary (side shoots) later.
In this case, you could grow three plants in an 18-inch-wide by 12- to 18-inch-deep pot. Your container should be at least 12 inches deep to accommodate root growth. It’s really up to you and how much space you have in your container garden. I decided to plant my crops in a more crowded pot.
The first thing you need to do is fill the container with soil and fertilizer. You can use either:
Potting mix supplemented with 10-10-10 (NPK) fertilizer according to package instructions.
Well-drained garden soil supplemented with 50-50 compost or well-rotted manure.
Broccoli likes neutral to slightly acidic soil, so you may want to do a soil test to make sure the pH is between 6.0 and 7.0.
For spring planting, you’ll want to sow seeds indoors about eight weeks before the average last frost date.
You’ll get a head start on enjoying your crisp rutabagas if you start them indoors, but you can also start them directly in containers outside, 2-3 weeks before the average last frost date.
Ideally, you would transplant your seedlings when they have at least 2-3 sets of true leaves and are about 4-6 inches tall.
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