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When to plant
broccoli in the UK
Cut the main head first and you'll get side shoots for weeks. Purple sprouting is the real star — worth the long wait.
Growing journey
12 weeks from planting out to harvest · Start indoors 6 weeks before planting out
Get broccoli seeds
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What broccoli need
Sun. Firm, fertile soil. Net against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies.
Spacing
45cm between plants
These are larger plants — give them plenty of space for air circulation.
Varieties to try
Good companions
Keep apart from
- Tomatoes
- Runner beans
When to sow broccoli
Based on UK average frost date. Enter your postcode for exact dates, or find your city.
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Where to buy broccoli seeds
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What you'll need for broccoli
The stuff beginners wish they'd bought sooner.
Without this, cabbage white caterpillars will strip your plants to skeletons. Cover from planting day — not after you spot damage.
Hold netting above the leaves. Draped directly on plants, butterflies lay eggs through the mesh where it touches.
Flat discs around the stem at soil level to stop cabbage root fly laying eggs at the base. Cheap, reusable, and often forgotten.
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Get your exact dates
Enter your postcode for personalised planting dates for broccoli.
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