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PollinationNotes: Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) easily cross-pollinates with other members of its species, including cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. Only save seeds from one Brassica oleracea population at a time (separate by at least feet).
Resist the urge to perfect your soil with store-bought amendments. Broccoli thrives over time when it can adapt to native soil.
SpringSow indoors – weeks before the last frost date, or direct sow once the soil can be worked.
Fall: Sow in late summer for a fall harvest, as broccoli prefers cooler temperatures.
DirectSow: If direct sowing, plant seeds outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring.
Plant - times the number of seeds as as plants you want to end up with,
Spacing: inches apart and ¼ inch deep, and keep the soil moist until seedlings emerge after about a week.
Broccoli grows best in cool weather, so if you’re in a hot summer climate,plant as early as you can to give it time to mature before the heat. (factcheck,details–when?)
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Keep soil moist until seedlings emerge. Once seedlings reaches - inches tall, it's time to thin:
Remove the smaller or pest-susceptible plants, ending up with a spacing of ” between plants.
Some plants will naturally resist pests, handle poor soil, or thrive in your local conditions better than others. By keeping a diverse mix when thinning, you're helping develop broccoli that's perfectly adapted to your garden.
Photo of diverse broccoli or other brassica seedlings
HarvestingtoEat:Broccoli will begin forming heads during summer or early fall. The heads are immature flower buds; so harvest promptly to avoid having to eat the flowers. After cutting the main head, allow resprouts to grow for extended harvests.
Sproutingbroccolihassmallerheadsthantraditionalbroccoli.Onceyou harvestthemainhead,itwillkeepsendingtastysideshoots.
Harvestpromptlyonce youseeitformingahead (left),oryouwillendup withflowersandseeds
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Cut off and eat all of the first heads the plant produces. Once the stalks produce new shoots, mark your favorites with ribbons (to save for seeds). Do you prefer purple, larger, or smaller buds? Mark those plants.
Harvest the non-marked resprouts for eating. Be sure to allow at least three plants to go to seed because they require other plant’s pollen in order to make viable seeds.
Someofthebroccolimaynot flowerandsetseedinthe firstyear.Removethose plantstogivemorespaceto otherplants.
Sprouting broccoli will continue to produce buds for ____
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Harvest: Allow the seed pods to dry fully on the plant, but harvest them before rain is expected to prevent mold and before the dry pods split open. To harvest, lay out a sheet or a bin on the ground, then cut the whole plants with a pruner and gather the plants inside the sheet.
Let the bundle or bin continue drying in a well-ventilated, shaded area until the pods crackle and split when you handle them. When fully dry, separate the pods from the seeds by rubbing or stomping on them (in a bin) to release the seeds.
Winnow:Use a fan or a breezy day to clean the seeds by pouring out the mixed seeds and chaff from one bin to another located beneath it (have a sheet under the bin in case you lose too many while learning).
The lighter chaff blows away while the heavier seeds fall into a container.
Store seeds in a cool, dry, dark place after freezing them for hours to eliminate any pests. Properly dried and stored, broccoli seeds can remain viable for up to five years.
Visual guide/Photos
● Broccoli pods ready to collect on the plant
● People processing seeds
● Winnowing
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When you return seeds, you're helping build a living library of locally-adapted varieties that get stronger with each passing season. After keeping enough for yourself, use the sticker provided to keep track of your seeds for planting next year, and the additional stickerto return seeds to your nearest seed library.
HowtoReturnSeeds:
● Remove as much chaff (stems, pods, leaves) as possible.
● Make sure seeds are completely dry. When hit with a hammers, beans and corn should shatter. Squash seeds should break instead of bend.
● Bring them to your local seed library in any clean container
● Fill out a quick check-in slip (found near the seed cabinet, or use the tear-off page or sticker found in this booklet.
● Drop off your seeds where indicated by the seed library.
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Mission Statement
If/How to volunteer
Visit the website
Photo
These seeds were grown by Clint Freund of Cultivating the Commons in Amery Wisconsin.
Clint is an organic farmer with over years of experience,grows seed for Experimental Farm Network, Seed Savers Exchange, and Baker Creek Heirlooms, while also running his own online seed store.
For this project, Clint started with different varieties of sprouting broccoli, and is focusing on improving resistance to black rot and crown diseases, aiming to develop a diverse landrace of sprouting broccoli that is robust, disease-resistant, productive, and offers an extended harvest season..
Credit:AllphotosofbroccoliweretakenbyClintFreund.
Photo
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Broccoli began its journey in the coastal Mediterranean, where wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea) grew along rocky limestone cliffs. Ancient farmers in what is now Italy began selecting plants with larger, more tender flower buds around BCE.
The Etruscans were the first to cultivate broccoli in the area we now call Tuscany. They bred it from wild cabbage, along with other vegetables we know today like kale and cauliflower. Roman gardeners continued developing broccoli, selecting for the tight, edible flower heads we're familiar with today.
The vegetable remained largely unknown outside Italy until the th century. American gardeners didn't embrace broccoli until the s, when Italian immigrants brought their cherished seeds and growing traditions to the New World.
While modern commercial growers focus on single-headed broccoli varieties, sprouting broccoli is closer to its Mediterranean ancestors. It produces smaller but continual harvests throughout the season, making it ideal for home gardens.
Since those first Tuscan farmers, people have been saving broccoli seeds and adapting them to new locations- whether you're growing on a patio or a farm, you're now part of that ancient tradition.
Please fill out this sticker or form and return with your seeds
Plant/species name:__________________________________
Variety (or parent varieties) ____________________________
Garden Location:_____________________________________
Year: _______________________________________
Why did you choose to save seeds from this plant? (e.g. traits), or any other comments about it:
Grower name: ____________________________________
Email or phone: ___________________________________
Seed packet holder space
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YearbyYearGuide
Year1: Plant all the seeds in this packet. Some will do better than others, so you can celebrate those and don’t worry about stragglers (thin them if there are extra plants). The survivors form beneficial partnerships with the local soil microbes they need. Save seeds!
Year2: Your saved seeds are already adapting. If many thrive, save from the best—selecting for flavor, resilience, and productivity creates stronger plants with each generation.
Year3+: Save seeds from the plants with your favorite traits. (Natural selection is ongoing as long as you are saving seeds every year). Which ones are delicious, your favorite color, or size? To keep resilient, adaptive plants, don’tnarrow down the population too much – keep some diversity by saving seeds from various plants, shapes, colors and flavors.
Remember: letting plants adapt naturally reduces the need for purchased inputs over time. 14
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In this guide, you'll learn how to grow and save seeds that get stronger and more delicious with each generation. Along the way, you'll join an ancient tradition of seed stewards, helping to heal our food system from the ground up.
Localization - Over time, seeds learn your soil, local pests, climate, and your habits, and will thrive with less effort from you.
Strengththroughcommunity - Share seeds, stories and knowledge. Every gardener adds to our local food security.
Selectforwhatyoulove- Grow food that matches what matters to you—flavor, sustainability, resilience, or all three.
