Cultivars to Select
To get the best results when growing broccoli in pots, you’ll want to select cultivars that are compact and fast maturing.
Here are two of our favorite cultivars for container growing. One is a head-forming broccoli, and the other is a sprouting variety.
Of Cicco
True Leaf Market’s ‘Di Cicco’ is exactly what’s growing in my container!
This heirloom cultivar forms heads instead of multiple stalks like ‘Royal Tenderette,’ described below, but it’s quick to mature.
In just 48 to 70 days, you’ll be enjoying crisp crowns.
Harvest the main head when it’s three to four inches wide for a roasted broccoli soup, like this one from our sister site, Foodal.
And then watch as multiple side shoots grow from the stalk, providing you with even more tasty florets.
You can find seeds in packets of various sizes for ‘Di Cicco’ at True Leaf Market.
Purple Sprouting
Purple sprouting broccoli grows upright and bushy, usually reaching 24 to 36 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide.
Instead of one large central head, it produces a steady supply of slender side shoots with small violet-purple florets.
It is a long-season crop, typically requiring 180 to 220 days from transplant to harvest, or about six to seven months, depending on climate and growing conditions.
You can find seeds for purple sprouting broccoli in a variety of packet sizes available at Eden Brothers.
Royal Tenderette
An excellent choice for containers, the green sprouting variety ‘Royal Tenderette’ produces several three- to four-inch stalks that each produce a floret.
This fast-growing variety matures in just 50 to 60 days from germination and can produce two to three harvests.
You can simply cut a few sweet-tasting florets off for an easy lunchtime side dish for your family and then watch as more stalks grow in 12 to 14 days.
Find packets of 50 seeds or a set of six plants available at Burpee.
Preparing Your Container
Fill your container with soil and add a bit of fertilizer. You can either use:
- Potting mix amended with 10-10-10 (NPK) fertilizer, according to the directions on the package.
- Well-draining garden soil amended half and half with compost or well-rotted manure.
If you decide to use soil from your garden, don’t use soil that has been previously planted with brassicas as it can harbor disease.
Broccoli likes neutral to slightly acidic soil, so you may wish to conduct a soil test to make sure the pH is between 6.0 and 7.0.
Soil should be loose and well-draining to promote healthy root growth.
How to Grow
Broccoli loves cool weather and a full sun location, but hot summer temperatures can cause the plant to bolt.
Because of this, there are two ideal seasons for planting your broccoli: spring and fall.
For a spring planting, you’ll want to start seeds indoors about eight weeks before your average last frost date.
You’ll get a head start if you sow them indoors, but you can also sow directly in containers outdoors, two to three weeks before your average last frost date.
For a fall planting, sow seeds about eight to 10 weeks before your average first frost date.
The plus side of growing in containers during cooler fall weather is that you’ll battle fewer bugs.
