What do broccoli seeds look like

My pods are still on plants in the garden and are still soft. Can I remove plant, hang to dry since pods are not dried yet? Removing them before the pods turn brown will reduce viability of the seeds. In nature, the pods turn brown, dry out, then split open, depositing seeds onto the soil below where they will sprout anew.

You can remove now, but might reduce yield. Yes, basically. And each pod will produce at least a dozen or more seeds. Your email address will not be published.

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Broccoli seed pods are forming. Broccoli seed pods. Broccoli pods and seeds. Saving broccoli seeds. Share this: Email Facebook Reddit Twitter. Download my FREE companion planting guide!

Indoors start your seeds 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date. For outdoors, sow 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost date, or you can work your soil. For fall, sow seeds outdoors 85 to days from your first fall frost, or start seeds in late May.

Preparation of Site Broccoli needs full sun exposure of 6 to 8 hours per day. Lack of sunlight produces thin, leggy plants and smaller quality heads.

Plant in moist, fertile soil with good drainage and a pH of around 6. To increase success, work in 2 to 4 inches of rich compost or a thin layer of manure; drop your email address for more tips.

As your seedlings reach 2 to 3 inches in height, thin them out, so your plants are 12 to 20 inches apart. Suppose starting seeds indoors, planting broccoli sprouts transplants at 4 to 6 weeks old with 4 to 5 leaves. Once outside, give broccoli plants around 20 inches apart and a hole slightly deeper than the pot or container. Space your broccoli rows 3 feet apart.

If less than this, you will get smaller heads yet more secondary heads. Water sufficiently. Will Broccoli Reseed Itself? Read Best Vertical Tower Garden Because we relate broccoli to other mustard family members, cross-pollination can happen with plants of this same species, and thus you end up with a hybrid.

To save broccoli seeds, you need to select the plants, which show traits you wish to carry over into your next growing seasons. The part of the broccoli plant we eat is the unopened flower buds. These then turn into your seeds. This means you may need to sacrifice a couple of broccoli heads for seed saving rather than for eating. What you do here is to let the head mature, and it will begin to turn from green to yellow.

It is here the flowers start blooming, and you get the forming of seed pods. Just be mindful that once the lids are off, the soil will dry out much faster especially with the fan. Broccoli plants are heavy feeders, and fertilizing them is very important. So give your seedlings a good start in life by feeding them as soon as they begin to grow their first true leaves.

Start with a weak dose of liquid fertilizer, and gradually bump it up to full strength as the seedlings mature. I recommend using an organic compost fertilizer indoors, which you can get in liquid form , or buy tea bags and brew your own. Once I move them outside, I switch to using fish emulsion or liquid kelp.

Broccoli seedlings absolutely love these, but they can get a little stinky when you use them indoors. Transplanting broccoli seedlings into the garden. So, once your broccoli seedling get to be a few inches tall, choose the strongest one, and thin the rest. Instead, use a sharp pair of micro-tip snips or bonsai shears to cut them off at the soil level. If your seedlings get tall enough indoors to outgrow the trays, then you should pot them up into larger containers.

That way they will have plenty of room to grow larger. Peat pots work great. Of course, you could always use small plastic nursery pots instead of the plantable ones. They are reusable, which is nice. If you direct sowed broccoli seeds into your garden, then you can skip this section.

But, if you started them indoors, then make sure you read these tips for transplanting. Broccoli is frost hardy, so you can be plant the seedlings in your garden weeks before your average last frost date in the spring. Regardless, you should always wait until the seedlings have their first few sets of true leaves before planting them out into your garden.

Learn about the timing for when to transplant seedlings here. But wait! Before you get busy transplanting your broccoli seedlings, they must be hardened first.

So make sure you do not skip this critical step, or your pampered seedlings could die as soon as you plant them outside. Begin by moving them outside in a protected, shady spot for a couple hours.

Then leave them outside a little longer every day, slowly exposing them to more sunlight. Learn exactly how to harden seedlings before transplanting here.

Though there are dwarf varieties that can grow well in pots, broccoli does best when planting in the garden where it has plenty of space. It also needs rich, fertile soil in order to produce large, beautiful heads. I recommend mixing a high-nitrogen fertilizer into the soil at planting time.

You can either use slow-release granules , or root-zone feeder packs. Broccoli plants need ample room, so do not overcrowd them.

Overcrowding will stunt their growth, which means smaller heads or none at all! For best results, space the seedlings or direct sow the seeds inches apart. Be sure to read the seed packets for exact spacing recommendations for each variety. It will look funny when the seedlings are still small, and you might think you left too much room.

But trust me, once the plants grow to full size, they will fill in the space nicely. Take care not to plant broccoli seedlings too deep. They should be planted at the same depth as they were growing in the seed tray or pot.

Just be sure that all the roots are covered. Many types of broccoli need a fairly long growing season in order to mature, but some are much faster. Depending on the variety, it can take anywhere from days from seed to harvest. Regularly fertilizing them will speed things up, and result in a much more prolific harvest.

The most frustrating thing about growing broccoli from seed is when you run into problems, and have no idea how to fix them. So below I have listed some of the most common problems you may have. You can read even more about fixing seedling problems here.

If the seeds are brand new, or have a high viability rate, then you can just plant one per hole. The general rule of thumb for seed planting depth is twice as deep as it is wide. While soaking broccoli seeds before planting is certainly not required, it can help them germinate faster and more reliably.

If you want to try it, simply soak them in warm water overnight before sowing them. Indoors, adding bottom heat is a great way to speed up germination.

Simply place the trays on top of a heat mat , and monitor the temperature with a soil thermometer. Ideally it should be kept between F degrees for the quickest germination time. No, broccoli seeds do not need light in order to germinate. Yes, if you live in a warm enough climate you can direct sow them. Growing broccoli from seed is so rewarding, and super fun too!

Plus, you can grow some pretty cool varieties when you buy seeds rather than seedlings. If you need more help, and want to learn how to grow all of your garden plants from seed using any method you want, check out my online Seed Starting Course. This comprehensive, self-paced, step-by-step online course is specifically designed to teach beginners how to grow all types of seeds. Sign up and start today! Share your best tips for growing broccoli from seed in the comments section below.

I live and garden in Minneapolis, MN zone 4b. My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening most of my life. Read More