Purple sprouting broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
In a typical UK garden, sow indoors mid-April to early June, sow outside mid-April to early June, plant out late May to mid-July, and harvest late December to mid-May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Sow indoors
- mid-April to early June
- Sow outdoors
- mid-April to early June
- Plant out
- late May to mid-July
- Harvest
- late December to mid-May
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 60 cm apart, rows 60 cm apart
- Square foot
- 1 per 4 squares (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- 1.5 cm
- Ready in
- 200 to 270 days from planting out
- Grows to
- 90 cm
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -12 °C
- Sun
- Full sun
- Crops for
- About 8 weeks
Growing tip
Plant firmly and stake before winter winds; net against pigeons, and cut spears before the flowers open.
Neighbours
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Brassicas are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works
More brassicas
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For purple sprouting broccoli, we used:
Grow purple sprouting broccoli with VegLog
Add purple sprouting broccoli to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
