Right about this time of year comes unpredictable weather. We hope for a little temperance with our daily and nighttime temperature. I’ve grown up with the brag ‘if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute’, a saying that sounds great when joking about Texas Gulf Coast fall and winter.

I am highlighting one vegetable that is a cold tolerant trooper in the garden and one of my favorite to grow in the fall and winter: broccoli.

There are similarities in growing conditions when comparing cole crops such as broccoli, cauliflower or brussels sprouts. The optimal growing conditions for all are when daytime temps are moderate between 60 and 80-degrees and cool to cold nights at 40 to 50-degrees. They all perform best in fertile, well-drained soils so planting in raised beds with supplemental composted organic matter is optimal. A general rule of thumb for watering them is to keep the soil moist but not soaked. Mulch as appropriate and as always, modify watering dependent on seasonal rains. About four weeks after transplanting, apply one pound of fertilizer for each 30-feet of row and beside the plants. Another month after and if using a nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate (21-0-0), evenly distribute at 1 cup per 30-feet row.

Broccoli are one of the easiest vegetables to work with this time of year. While planting from seed is best started late August to September, you can purchase transplant varietals from local nurseries and retail outlets. Make sure to space them at minimum 18-inches apart so that they have a chance to produce large heads and side-shoots as you harvest. Broccoli will weather light freezes and will perform adequately with sustained freeze if allowed to acclimate from an early planting ahead of true winter and covered to prevent freeze damage.

For the novice grower, what looks like small green trees are clusters of tightly packed, unopened yellow flowers. While we focus on floral heads for our table, these heads, supporting stems and leaves can be eaten. For harvest, cut the center head when individual buds begin to swell to about the size of a matchstick head. You can continue to harvest side shoots throughout the season. A few preferred broccoli varieties you can begin to harvest in less than two months are Italian heirloom Calabrese (48 days), Green Comet (40 days), Green Magic (57 days), and Packman (50 days); for longer season, try Lieutenant (75 days). Find out more and visit Galveston County AgriLife Extension Horticulture webpage to find links to vegetable varieties and planting guides, garden articles, soil and water testing and more at: https://galveston.agrilife.org/horticulture/. Thank you for the opportunity to grow with you, and I’ll see you in the garden.