Broccoli Purple Sprouting

01 About

Two quite different crops share the broccoli name. Calabrese gives you large green summer heads in 10–12 weeks from sowing. Purple Sprouting Broccoli (PSB) is a completely different beast — sown in spring, it overwinters as a large plant and then produces a cascade of sweet purple shoots from February through to May, filling the hungry gap when almost nothing else is available. Both are nutritional powerhouses and among the most rewarding brassicas for any UK garden or allotment.

02 What to Grow

Calabrese is the familiar green-headed broccoli from the supermarket — fast-growing, rewarding, and ready in 10–12 weeks from sowing. Cut the central head first, then harvest side shoots for weeks. Purple Sprouting Broccoli (PSB) is a long-season crop that overwinters and produces masses of slender purple shoots from February to May. Long-stemmed types — selected for their long, sweet stalks — are the restaurant favourite and work as either calabrese or PSB depending on the variety.

03 Varieties

The number of varieties shown for each crop is based on UK consumption data (2025/26) — the more popular the crop, the more variety choices we include.

💜 Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Overwintering crop that produces masses of sweet purple shoots from February to May. Fills the hungry gap like nothing else. Real-life photography.

Early Purple Sprouting

PSB

The classic PSB variety, ready from February. Produces masses of slender purple shoots over a long season. Essential for any UK plot looking to fill the hungry gap. Very cold hardy.

• Hardy
• ⭐ Flavour
• Hungry Gap

Red Arrow F1

PSB

A variety with uniform, erect shoots and outstanding flavour. One of the most productive PSB varieties available. Ready from March. Very good resistance to downy mildew.

• High Yield
• ⭐ Flavour

Rudolph

PSB

Very early PSB — shoots from December in mild areas. The earliest-cropping PSB variety and the best choice for extending the season. Compact habit suitable for smaller gardens.

• Early
• Hardy
• ⭐ Flavour

Late Purple Sprouting

PSB

Extends the PSB season into May and beyond. Taller than early types with generous side shoot production. Ideal for filling the hungry gap into late spring. Good cold hardiness.

• Late Season
• Hardy
• Hungry Gap

Bordeaux F1

PSB

Compact, vigorous PSB suited to smaller gardens. Deep purple shoots with excellent flavour. Ready from late February. Good clubroot tolerance and consistent performance in UK conditions.

• Compact
• ⭐ Flavour

Claret F1

PSB

Mid-season PSB with outstanding uniformity. Rich purple shoots of good length and excellent flavour. Ready March–April. Reliable and consistent — one of the best performing varieties in independent trials.

• AGM
• Reliable
• ⭐ Flavour

White Eye

PSB

Unusual white-sprouting PSB with excellent flavour. Less common than purple types but very rewarding. Ready April–May. The white shoots are striking on the plate and have a slightly milder, sweeter taste than purple PSB.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour
• Unusual

Nine Star Perennial

PSB

A unique perennial broccoli that produces multiple white heads year after year if the small heads are cut promptly. Needs a permanent bed position. Long-lived — plants can crop for 3–4 years with good care.

• Perennial
• Heritage
• Unusual

Purple Sprouting Early White

PSB

White-headed early PSB — less common but highly regarded for its mild, sweet flavour. Produces masses of small white shoots from February. Excellent cold hardiness and good disease resistance.

• Early
• Hardy
• ⭐ Flavour

🌿 Long-stemmed Broccoli

Long-stalked, sweet-stemmed broccoli eaten stalk and all. A cross between calabrese and Chinese kale. Restaurant favourite and outstanding flavour. Real-life photography.

Long-stemmed broccoli

Long-stemmed

A cross between calabrese and Chinese kale, grown for long, sweet, tender stems with small heads — eat the whole shoot. Ready in about 12 weeks from sowing and very productive; keep cutting and more side shoots follow. Superb lightly steamed or stir-fried. Seed is sold under several names, so look for long-stemmed broccoli.

• F1
• ⭐ Flavour
• Reliable
• High Yield

Tenderette F1

Long-stemmed

A modern long-stemmed hybrid with a naturally branching habit, producing multiple slender, sweet stems topped with small mini-florets. Gives 2–3 harvests over a month from a single plant — good for a steady, ongoing supply rather than one big cut.

• F1
• High Yield

04 Where to Source

Both types of broccoli are widely available as seed. Calabrese seed is sold by all main online seed companies and garden centres. PSB is more specialist — order online in January for the best selection. Plug plants of both types appear in garden centres from April and market stalls in May.

05 Companion Planting

✅ Grow nearby

• 

  🌸 Nasturtiums

  Trap crop for cabbage white butterfly and aphids. Nasturtiums planted at the perimeter of brassica beds draw pests away from the broccoli plants and attract beneficial insects.

• 

  🌿 Thyme

  Thyme is thought to repel cabbage white butterfly when planted near brassicas. The aromatic oils in thyme confuse egg-laying insects searching for brassica host plants.

• 

  🧅 Onions

  Onions and brassicas are good companions — onion scent may help mask the presence of broccoli from cabbage white butterflies and other brassica pests.

❌ Keep apart

• 🍅 Tomatoes — Nightshades and brassicas compete strongly for nutrients. Keep in separate beds and rotate annually.
• 🍓 Strawberries — Brassicas suppress strawberry growth in close proximity. Maintain a clear gap of at least one bed width.
• 🌿 Fennel — Fennel root chemicals inhibit the growth of most vegetables including all brassicas.

06 Sowing — How To

Calabrese and PSB have quite different sowing requirements — calabrese is sown direct and dislikes root disturbance, while PSB is best raised in modules and transplanted.

• 🪴 Direct (Calabrese) — Sow direct into prepared soil Mar–Jun. Make stations 30cm apart, sow 3 seeds per station at 1cm depth. Thin to the strongest seedling when 5cm tall. Calabrese transplants poorly — direct sowing gives far better results.
• 🌱 Modules (PSB) — Sow PSB one seed per module in Apr–May at 1cm depth. Germination takes 7–10 days. Grow on until 10–15cm tall, then transplant to final positions at 45cm spacing.
• 🛒 Plug Plants — Garden centres sell both types as plugs from April. A reliable option for calabrese if the sowing window has passed. Plant out immediately and water in well.

1. 

   Prepare the bed

   Rake to a fine tilth for calabrese direct sowing. For PSB, tread the bed firmly — PSB needs firm soil just like other brassicas.

2. 

   Sow at correct depth

   Sow at 1cm depth. For calabrese, make stations 30cm apart with 3 seeds each. For PSB modules, one seed per cell.

3. 

   Thin or pot on

   Thin calabrese to the strongest seedling per station. Grow PSB modules on until they have 4–5 true leaves.

4. 

   Transplant PSB

   Transplant PSB at 45cm spacing (60cm for large varieties). Firm the soil very well around each plant.

5. 

   Net immediately

   Cabbage white butterfly will lay eggs on any unprotected brassica. Net straight after sowing or transplanting.

6. 

   Water consistently

   Both types need steady moisture throughout growth. Any check — from drought or heat — can trigger premature bolting in calabrese.

07 Regional Timing

Regional sowing & harvest timing

Region	Sow / plant	Harvest	Notes
Scotland & Far North	Apr–May	Jul–Apr	Sow PSB in modules April–May; transplant June. Calabrese sow direct May–Jun. PSB harvests Feb–Apr; calabrese Jul–Sep. · Apr – May
Northern England	Apr–May	Jul–Apr	Sow PSB modules April–May; transplant by end June. Calabrese direct Apr–Jun. PSB Feb–Apr; calabrese Jul–Sep. · Apr – May
Midlands & Wales	Mar–Jun	Jul–Apr	PSB modules March–May; calabrese direct Mar–Jun. PSB harvest Feb–Apr; calabrese Jul–Oct. · Mar – Jun
Ireland & Isle of Man	Mar–Jun	Jul–Apr	PSB modules March–May; calabrese direct Mar–Jun. PSB harvest Feb–Apr; calabrese Jul–Oct. · Mar – Jun
South & SE England	Mar–Jun	Jul–Apr	PSB from March indoors; calabrese direct Mar–Jun. PSB Feb–Apr (some Dec in sheltered spots); calabrese Jul–Oct. · Mar – Jun
South Coast & SW	Mar–Jun	Jul–Apr	Earliest PSB sowings March. Calabrese direct Mar–Jun. Mild winters extend PSB harvest — Dec–Apr possible. Calabrese Jul–Oct. · Mar – Jun

08 Using a Propagator

Neither calabrese nor PSB requires heat to germinate — both are cool-season brassicas that perform best without artificial warmth. Calabrese is sown direct outdoors from March, so no propagator is involved. PSB is raised in modules from April in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.

1. 

   PSB modules only

   Fill a module tray with fresh seed compost. Sow one seed per cell at 1cm depth. Do not use heat — place in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.

2. 

   Calabrese direct

   Calabrese is never raised in a propagator. Sow direct into prepared soil outdoors from March, 3 seeds per station at 30cm spacing, thinning to the strongest.

3. 

   Germination

   PSB germinates in 7–10 days at 10–18°C. Ventilate once seedlings are through to prevent damping off.

4. 

   Grow on

   Grow PSB modules on in the cold frame until 10–15cm tall before transplanting. Do not allow to become root-bound.

09 Soil Requirements

pH

6.0–7.5

Best

Loam, Clay loam

Tolerates

Sandy loam

Avoid

Waterlogged, Acid

10 Ongoing Care

💧 Watering

Water consistently throughout the growing season, especially during dry spells in summer. Purple sprouting broccoli grows through winter and spring — water is less critical then but important during establishment. Consistent moisture during the growing season produces larger, better-formed spears.

🌿 Feeding

Apply a nitrogen-rich liquid feed in late summer to support strong growth before winter. A balanced fertiliser in early spring encourages strong spear production. Avoid heavy feeding in autumn — soft growth is more vulnerable to winter damage.

🪲 Pest Protection

Cover with fine insect-proof mesh throughout the growing season to exclude cabbage white butterflies and cabbage moths. Purple sprouting broccoli stands in the ground for many months and needs continuous protection. Check plants regularly and remove caterpillars by hand from any unprotected plants.

🥦 Harvesting Spears

Harvest spears when the florets are tightly formed and before any flowers open — once flowering begins the spears become bitter and tough. Cut with a sharp knife leaving 10–15cm of stem. Regular harvesting encourages a continuous succession of sideshoots over many weeks.

11 Watch Out For

🐛 Insects & pests

• 🦋 Cabbage Moth Caterpillar — Wilting or collapse of the central growing point of cabbages and Brussels sprouts
• 🦋 Cabbage White Caterpillar — Yellow, ribbed, skittle-shaped eggs in neat clusters on the underside of leaves in summer
• 🐜 Aphids (Blackfly & Greenfly) — Curled, distorted, or stunted growing tips — aphids inject saliva that causes leaf curl to protect them
• 🐌 Slugs & Snails — Silver slime trails on leaves, soil, and pots — often the first sign before damage is found
• 🌿 Leaf Miner — Pale, winding tunnels or irregular blotches between leaf surfaces — visible when held up to light

🍄 Diseases to watch

• 🥦 Clubroot — Clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) is arguably the most feared soil-borne disease in UK kitchen gardens. It persists in the soil as resting spores for up to 20 years — meaning a bed that becomes infected is effectively lost for brassica growing for two decades without extraordinary intervention. Crop rotation is the most critical preventive measure.
• 🔵 Downy Mildew — Downy mildew is caused by oomycetes (water moulds) and is completely unrelated to powdery mildew despite the similar name. It thrives in cool, wet, humid conditions and is most damaging in spring and autumn. Each host plant has its own specific downy mildew species. Lettuce downy mildew can destroy an entire bed within days in the right conditions.
• 🩶 Botrytis (Grey Mould) — Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) is the most ubiquitous fungal pathogen in temperate gardens — present in virtually every garden soil and on plant debris. It becomes a disease only when conditions favour it: cool, humid, poorly ventilated environments with damaged or senescent plant tissue. In a greenhouse in autumn it can destroy an entire tomato or grape crop.

Full identification and treatment advice is in the Pests and Diseases sections.

12 Storage & Preserving

🧺 Fresh Storage

Store unwashed broccoli in the fridge for up to 3 days. Wrap loosely in a damp cloth to retain moisture. PSB shoots are more delicate — use within 2 days of cutting.

❄️ Freezing

Blanch florets or PSB shoots for 2–3 minutes in boiling water, plunge into ice water, drain and freeze flat on a tray, then bag. Keeps for up to 12 months. Texture softens slightly.

🍳 Cooking a Glut

Roast at 200°C with olive oil and garlic until the edges char slightly — outstanding flavour. PSB shoots are superb simply steamed and served with butter or hollandaise. Both work well in stir-fries and pasta.

13 Expert Tips

14 Common Mistakes

15 See Also

• 🔄 Crop Rotation
• 🌼 Companion Planting
• ♻️ Composting