Spring planting doesn’t start when the air feels warm, It...Read More
Waltham 29 Broccoli is an excellent heirloom variety for growing full size broccoli heads in the garden or used indoors for growing sprouts and microgreens. This variety does very well in cool weather and tolerates a light frost. These plants mature into sturdy, 24 to 30 inch tall plants with classic 6 inch, blue-green floret heads and side shoots that pack dynamic earthy broccoli flavor. Waltham 29 Broccoli is not uniform in maturity, so you will typically get prolonged staggered broccoli harvest. Waltham 29 Broccoli is named after Waltham, MA, where researchers at the University of Massachusetts developed it at the Amherst’s historic research farm in 1950. When cooking with your Waltham 29 Broccoli, you can use it in a large range of ways. Eat raw with ranch dip, roast in the oven with Snowball Cauliflower and your other favorite hardy veggies, steam, stir-fry, or cut into thick slices and throw it on the grill. Our favorite way to use this veggie is in broccoli cheddar soup made with home-grown Utah Yellow Onions for a pop of flavor.`
NAME: Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
VARIETY: Waltham 29
DAYS TO MATURITY: 60 – 85 days
POLLINATION: Open Pollinated
HARDINESS ZONE: Zones 2 – 11
TYPE: Annual
SUNLIGHT: Full Sun
SOIL: Fertile, loose soil with a pH 6.0 – 6.5
PLANT HEIGHT: 14 – 36 inches
SPACING: 18 – 30 inches
TEMP: 35 – 80 °F
These seeds do not required stratification.
To learn more about Stratification, click here!
Start seeds indoors 5 to 7 weeks before your last local average frost date
Once the plants have grown to 5 to 6 inches tall with 4 to 5 leaves, they can then be transplanted outdoors
Before transplanting outdoors, harden off seedlings for several days. Do this by taking them outside during the day and bringing them in at night (Outside temps should be above 50°F when you start this process)
Plant each of the seedlings in a hole slightly deeper than their starting container
Space out the plants 12 to 20 inches apart
Sow directly into soil 1 week before your last frost date, or as soon as the soil can be worked
Broccoli seeds are capable of germinating in soil temperatures as low as 40°F, but warmer soil is preferred and will speed up germination
Initially, sow seeds ½ inch deep and 3 inches apart in fertile, slightly acidic soil (pH between 6.0 – 7.0)
Once seedlings reach a height of 2 to 3 inches, thin them out so that plants are spaced 12 to 20 inches apart
Space rows of broccoli at least 3 feet apart. Closer spacing yields smaller main heads but more secondary heads.
To increase fertility before you plant, in early spring, work in 2 to 4 inches of rich compost into the soil
Broccoli is a cool-season crop, so it is best planted in early spring and harvested before high temps are expected
Hot days in the late summer will stunt growth and cause your plants to bolt which will produce thin, leggy plants with small broccoli heads; however, a plant that receives less than 7 hours of sunlight per day may produce thin, leggy plants as well.
Once matured, harvest by cutting 3 inches below the main head of broccoli with a sharp knife
After you have harvested the main head of broccoli, it will often keep producing smaller side shoots that can be eaten too
For fall plantings in warm climates, sow seeds outdoors 85 to 100 days before the first fall frost for an additional harvest
