How to Grow Broccoli in the UK

Broccoli is one of the most reliable brassicas for a UK vegetable patch — here's how to sow, grow, protect and harvest both summer calabrese and overwintering purple sprouting broccoli for a crop that spans most of the year.

Last updated 13 July 2026

Broccoli in the UK really means two different crops. Summer or "calabrese" broccoli forms one large central head and is sown and harvested within a single season, typically from June through autumn. Purple sprouting broccoli (PSB) is a much longer-term crop, sown in spring but not cropping until the following late winter and early spring, when it produces a steady succession of smaller spears rather than one big head. Deciding which one (or both) you want to grow shapes almost every other decision below.

Choosing Between Calabrese and Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Calabrese suits smaller gardens and shorter rotations: it's in the ground for around 10-12 weeks from transplanting to harvest, and once the central head is cut, most varieties throw a handful of smaller side shoots for a few weeks afterwards. Purple sprouting broccoli is a bigger commitment — plants can reach 1.2m tall and need almost a full year in the ground — but it fills a genuine gap in the UK calendar, cropping in February and March when little else in the vegetable garden is ready.

Sowing Broccoli in the UK

Sow calabrese from March to June, either in modules under cover for transplanting, or direct from May once the soil has warmed. Purple sprouting broccoli is sown earlier in the season, from April to May, for transplanting out in June and July ready to overwinter. Both germinate within 7-12 days at soil temperatures of around 10-20°C. Sow thinly, roughly 1.5cm deep, and pot on or thin seedlings before they become leggy — brassica seedlings that are checked or overcrowded early rarely catch up later.

Space calabrese plants 30-45cm apart each way; purple sprouting broccoli needs considerably more room, at least 60-75cm apart, since the plants are larger and stand in the ground much longer.

Regional Timing: South vs North

In the milder south, calabrese can go in the ground as early as March under fleece or cloches, and purple sprouting broccoli transplanted in June will often start cropping by late January. Further north and in Scotland, where frosts arrive earlier and harder, it's usually safer to hold calabrese sowings until April and to choose a hardier PSB variety, since exposed plants can suffer wind rock and frost damage over a long, cold winter. Staking taller PSB plants is worth doing in any exposed garden, but especially so further north.

Soil and Feeding

Broccoli is a hungry crop and does best in firm, fertile, well-drained soil that's been enriched with well-rotted manure or compost the previous autumn — freshly dug, loose soil tends to produce leafy plants with small, disappointing heads. Our guide to building good vegetable soil in the UK covers how to get this preparation right well ahead of planting. A balanced feed at transplanting, followed by a nitrogen-rich boost in early spring for overwintering PSB, helps push strong spear production once growth restarts.

Protecting Broccoli from Pests

Broccoli is vulnerable to the same pest pressures as the rest of the brassica family: cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, flea beetle on young seedlings, whitefly, and club root in soil that hasn't been rotated. Pigeons are a particular menace over winter, when they'll strip purple sprouting broccoli leaves down to bare stems given the chance. Netting from the day of transplanting — both fine mesh against butterflies and a sturdier bird net against pigeons — is the single most effective protection, and needs to stay in place for the crop's entire time in the ground given how long PSB stands. See our full guide to protecting brassicas from cabbage white butterfly for mesh sizes and timing, and our garden problems, pests and diseases hub for flea beetle, whitefly and club root more broadly.

Harvesting Broccoli

Cut the central calabrese head while the buds are still tightly closed and green — as soon as you see individual yellow flowers starting to open, it's past its best. Cut with a good length of stem, angled so rain drains off the cut surface rather than pooling and rotting it, and the plant will usually go on to produce smaller side shoots for several more weeks. Purple sprouting broccoli is harvested a spear at a time from February, picking the central spear first to encourage side spears to follow — regular picking, two or three times a week once cropping starts, keeps plants producing for longer.

Storing and Using Broccoli

Broccoli is best eaten fresh — both calabrese heads and PSB spears lose sweetness and start to turn woody within a few days of picking, even refrigerated. For longer storage, blanch spears or florets for two to three minutes and freeze; frozen broccoli holds its texture reasonably well for soups, stir-fries and steaming, if not for eating raw.