How to grow broccoli in pots/containers at home/terrace/garden, season, care, and process

Most people become so conscious about their health after they get fat or overweight. They either try to eat nothing or they overexercise in a limited time. These two steps impact badly on the growth of the human body. You can't stop eating if you are overweight. You just need a good healthy diet and quality exercise. 

Broccoli solves the problem of a light diet that satisfies the stomach equivalent. Broccoli is low in carbs, average in nutrients and most part of it is water. 

It helps to make you go ahead to lose weight. You will not get fat after eating broccoli(almost 0% fat), so don't worry about it.

How to grow broccoli in pots at home?

You can easily grow broccoli in your garden, terrace, or in pots. Let's understand how to grow broccoli in pots/containers at home- 

Requirements to grow broccoli at home

Soil type, pH, and moisture to grow broccoli

Any garden soil can use in broccoli production but it needs to get fertile first. The pH of such garden soil must be between, 6.4 to 7.6. 

You need to maintain the moisture in the soil before sowing and growing broccoli plants. Soil moisture must be between 30 to 45 % moist. Either over 50% of soil becomes wet or dry soil below 25% moisture is not good for plants.

Compost/fertilizer to grow broccoli

If you are thinking about garden soil to grow broccoli then you must aware that garden soil is not fertile enough to grow most of the plants. Garden soil becomes fertile when you mix compost in it. 

From our side, we suggest using vermicompost to make your soil fertile.

1:1:1 of garden soil, vermicompost, and sand respectively make the mixture quality fertile to grow broccoli. So in a 1kg soil mixture, you need 333-gram garden soil, 333 gram of vermicompost, and 333 grams of sand.

Type of pots/containers to grow Broccoli

There is no term to define ideal pots when you are doing gardening or growing plants at your home. 

You just have to follow the principle that whatever kind of pot you have it should have proper drainage holes and capacity. 

The pot must not be too deep or too short. Pot/container can be of various materials. You can either use plastic containers or solid rock soil pots. 

For beginning to scatter the seeds, you must have a container of 20 to 25 inches in diameter. This container can allow at least 20 plants to sprout. Then later you have to transplant them into smaller pots. 

Each small pot must be 8 to 10 inches in diameter with proper drainage holes. Each pot should be 6 to 8 inches deep. 

Season of growing broccoli

Broccoli growing season

Broccoli doesn't grow in the summer or rainy season. It requires winter and low temperature with average moisture in the soil. The best time to grow Broccoli in your garden is October-November. If you have polyhouse or greenhouse then you can grow it anytime. 

Broccoli becomes mature between 75 to 100 days(depends on your variety, climate, and soil fertility).

Process of growing broccoli 

Sowing of broccoli seeds

Before sowing the seeds direct from the packet, better to either do their treatment or keep them in a slightly dry area. 

To sow the seeds, dig a few holes in the big pot of soil mixture, spread the seeds equally, and then cover them with the same soil mixture.

Remember, you don't need to let the seeds overlap each other. 

Now, spray the water and let the sprouts appear in the next 4 to 7 days. 

Transplantation of Broccoli plants

A Broccoli plant takes normally 5 to 20 days to get a decent height. When it becomes 5 to 6 inches tall, they are ready to grow in separate pots to get better and faster growth. 

With the help of a small cultivator tool, pick the small plants direct with the roots.  Sow them one by one in the already prepared pots/containers. Cover them with a thin layer of soil mixture and spray some water. Let them rest in the sunlight till they get broccoli to appear in the plant. Then you have to be aware after to care the broccoli. 

Water spray

Keep a regular checking of the soil moisture. If the soil looks dry then provide the water with the help of spray till it gets plenty of moisture. But don't let the soil wet or slurry. It will be good if you regularly provide water within a 10 to 15 days period(as required). 

Composting 

Use organic compost or vermicompost when broccoli starts to appear. You must provide vermicompost within 15 to 20 days during the broccoli growing period. This cycle can repeat 2 or 3 times till broccoli get mature. 

Weeding

One of the major factors that reduce the growth of broccoli plants(in gardening) is spontaneous plants. 

Because of moist soil, spontaneous plants appear quickly. So you have to make sure that you clean them. During the period of mature broccoli, 3  to 4 times weeding is required. 

Covering of young broccoli yield from sharp sunlight

You need to think logically here. When the plant becomes young, and broccoli appears then remove the bottom leaves to provide better growth to the broccoli. 

After it becomes young, you need to care about it from direct sunlight, otherwise, it may get yellowish or brownish. You just have to let the plant in the sunlight and cover the broccoli with its leaves. it will save them from not getting dry. 

Harvesting of broccoli

The best time to harvest broccoli is the morning time when it stay hard. 

Use a sharp tool to harvest matured broccoli, wash it and cook it. It is noticed that broccoli still appears after one-time harvesting but the plant doesn't last for a longer period and its growth reduces and not enough to produce larger yields because of increasing temperature.