By Judy White Read almost any garden book's advice about growing fall broccoli, and you'll find the classic wisdom that routinely touts transplants, not direct seeding in the garden, as the planting route to follow. But is it? Even though broccoli isn't supposed to be unduly bothered by transplant shock, we wondered what side-by-side trials of fall broccoli from transplants versus direct seed might turn up. The results opened nearly everyone's eyes. President Bush may have jettisoned broccoli from Air Force One, but he can't topple this vitamin-rich, possibly cancer-fighting vegetable from its perch as the American gardener's most popular cole crop. There are tricks, of course, to growing it well. Broccoli dislikes maturing in hot weather, preferring to make heads in spring or fall. Using transplants in early spring makes sense to give the first crop of broccoli a jump start against the coming summer heat, when it may bolt and go to seed. But do you get earlier fall yields -- and more of them -- by setting out six-week- old transplants in summer as recommended, or by sowing seeds six weeks earlier directly into the garden bed? We asked nine testers in various parts of the country to do exactly that. On the same day (between May 31 and August 3, depending upon regional recommendations), the testers planted seeds of All America Selections winner Premium Crop broccoli, sowing half indoors for transplants and starting the rest directly in the garden. Six weeks later, transplants were hardened off and planted outside to compete with their direct-seeded counterparts, yielding a broccoli bed of same-aged plants. The crucial difference between the plants was where they had spent their infancy. The results? In most parts of the country, broccoli that had been seeded directly beat the same-aged transplants to first harvest by an average of 22 days, and even by as much as a month in one trial. This seems clear evidence that broccoli does indeed suffer from transplant shock, contrary to popular opinion, with a measurable "setback" time of three weeks! And since most of the direct-seeded broccoli produced sooner and grew bigger, they also yielded more over the long run -- as much as seven times more in one astonishing trial, although a more typical gain was 10% to 25%. "I was really shocked," says tester Faith Tidd of Cohocton, New York. "I would have bet on the transplants before I started, but the direct-seeded ones just kept surprising me. Amazingly, they survived 90oF dry weather and flea beetles to grow much larger than the transplants by the six-week planting-out date." Janet Kisler, who gardens in Munfordville, Kentucky, discovered the same direct-seed tenacity. At transplant time, "I was amazed to see how much smaller the indoor-bred plants were than the direct-seeded ones, which had endured heat and insects. The seeded plants looked really vigorous and were three times the size of the others. And some of the transplanted broccoli did not survive transplanting. A greater percentage of them germinated, but the individual plants did not yield as much because they started yielding a month later." The story was the same in Bridport, Vermont, where veteran gardener Fred Myrick, Sr. has been direct-seeding broccoli for years before he took part in this trial. Even though he, too, noted better germination indoors, "direct seedings grew much more vigorously than transplants and yielded much earlier and much heavier," he reports. "I get much better crops this way." At an elevation of 3,500 feet in Helena, Montana, tester Susan Emery discovered that "direct-seeded plants performed far better than I had expected. I thought that such a late planting would be destroyed by flea beetles, but it wasn't. The heads on some of the plants were huge," outperforming transplants by nearly 30% in harvests. In Portland, Oregon, where the mild climate makes for brassica heaven, tester Marilyn Willhite has made direct seeding her planting choice now for several years. "It really is better!" she reports. "No transplant shock. Transplants had less vigor overall -- I lost a third at transplant time -- and they had much smaller central heads, with fewer side shoots." The verdict wasn't all favorable on fall broccoli growing, however. Although Joy Helm in Roy, Washington, also observed that her mid-July direct-seeded broccoli was "far healthier and larger" than the transplants, neither grew big enough, even after four months, to produce heads. Joy suspects a long, hot summer may have been the culprit. And to tester Sharon Clifton's great frustration, hail and grasshoppers took down all her broccoli in Greeley, Colorado, when she tried direct-seeding in June. Transplants didn't fare any better; hot wind and the relentless grasshoppers repeated the massacre in early July. But the only real complaints specifically against direct seeding were in the more southern states. "No, I won't waste my time again with direct seeding," says Jack Taylor of Inman, South Carolina, who lost half his seeded plants to slugs and rabbits, while the transplants weren't bothered. "Direct-seeded plants are very vulnerable when planted in July down here," he assesses. "The transplants were much healthier and larger from the beginning." Another Southerner, Patrick Mulhey of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also had better luck with his transplants, since the direct-seeded broccoli simply refused to come up when planted in early August, he reports. He thinks the "lack of germination may be due to the soil crusting over," a classic problem in his area. When we asked vegetable crop experts for their opinions, there was a lot of support for the tendency of transplant shock, even though half of them took the transplanting side in the Broccoli Debate. "I'm not really surprised to hear direct-seeded broccoli did better," says Stephen Reiners, vegetable specialist with Rutgers University Cooperative Extension Service in Brunswick, New Jersey. "I would expect the root system to be larger and deeper. Tomatoes lose the big taproot when transplanted, and develop shallower, more fibrous systems. I would suspect the same happens with broccoli." He still leans towards transplants, however. There's more margin of error in using bigger plants, Reiners believes, and he also dislikes wasting garden space at a time when early season crops such as peas and lettuce could still be growing there instead. R. Terry Jones, extension horticulturist at the University of Kentucky, "would have guessed plug-grown transplants would have given a better yield." He agrees that directly seeded broccoli that has never been torn or disturbed will have better root systems once established. Getting them established, however, is another thing, for in southern regions, he warns, it's hard to get good summer germination. "Plant very shallowly," he advises, "one-fourth inch instead of the recommended half inch, and keep the seeds continuously damp. And watch every day for pests, because it doesn't take flea beetles very long to take down a tiny seedling." He prefers transplants, even though it's cheaper to direct seed, because "you don't have to worry as much about pests and weeds and water. Direct seeding's more work." At the University of Georgia, however, Wayne McLaurin has done a lot of direct-seed trials in the Deep South with good results. Is it worth growing broccoli in the South, we asked? "We can grow the best broccoli in the world here," McLaurin says with a chuckle. But he echoes the dire need to keep the ground constantly moist to prevent crusting over during germination. "Even two hours in this sun with a little wind will dry out the soil," he He definitely prefers direct seeding, though, and the better root system that results, to the shock of transplanting. "It can be 80oF at a four-inch soil depth here in summer, and a transplant can 'cook' pretty quickly." In his book, Organic Garden Vegetables (Van Patten Publishing, Portland, Oregon, 1991), garden author George F. Van Patten recommends direct seeding of broccoli over using transplants, and he was pleased to hear confirmation of heavier, earlier yields using that method. "You lose root hairs with transplanting. That can cost you a couple of weeks. Sun intensity diminishes fast after mid-September, so the earlier yield with seeds makes a big difference." Van Patten also points out the greater selection in broccoli varieties using seeds rather than nursery transplants. Overall, he finds direct seeding simply easier. Many broccoli trials involve direct seeding at the same time transplants are placed in the garden, instead of seeding six weeks earlier, and results show a two- to three-week lag time of direct seeds under those conditions. Yet even though garden space was tied up for six weeks in these trials while growing seed, the acceleration of harvest really meant only a three-week investment of space, since yields started three weeks sooner, as early as late August in several cases, which can be a crucial difference in areas with early frost dates. And though two-thirds of our testers got better results with direct seeding, the debate continues even among them. "I'm a control freak," says Faith Tidd. "It was a battle keeping flea beetles off the direct-seeded plants. When I grow transplants in the house, I don't have to dump chemicals on them." And while Susan Emery in Montana says she'd use direct seeding again to fill in bare spots, she also points out that "our season's so short here -- we've even had snow on the Fourth of July. We're still getting good shoots from our spring plantings, at that time, so I'm not sure a late planting is worth the trouble." Marilyn Willhite will continue direct seeding, noting, "I also find I can grow them much closer together than when I transplant them." And Fred Myrick, Sr. in Vermont isn't even going to bother starting any broccoli in the house this year; he's now totally converted to direct seeding. It's a fall garden toss-up. In this corner, transplants, the favorite, reeling a bit from shock. In that corner, direct-seeding, the contender, smugly vigorous after a long and sometimes shaky, flea-bitten start. The Great, Late Broccoli Debate goes on. Bringing Up Broccoli Fall broccoli needs fertile ground to allow it to grow fast and beat the frost. Whether seeding or transplanting a crop, prepare the soil well first. Work in two bushels of aged manure per 100 square feet or broadcast two to three pounds of 5-10-10 over the same area. If you're using chemical fertilizers, sidedress crops with one pound of high nitrogen fertilizer, such as bloodmeal or 10-5-5 when plants are four to six inches high. Even in rich soil, make sure to allow the broccoli plenty of time to mature. In our trial, the average time from direct seeding to harvest was about 90 days. So be sure to sow at least three months before the first fall frost. Transplants needed an average of 42 days indoors and 60 days in the garden before harvest in our test. Spacing recommendations have cahnged as research into closer planting has shown good results. Direct seeded plants can be spaced as close as six to eight inches in hills, two per hill, while transplants should be ten to twelve inches apart, in rows 20" apart. Keep seeds continuously moist to germinate, and water each transplant as soon as it is put in the ground. Water is the key to establishing a good root system in general, especially in summer heat. Don't use mulch in very hot areas. (WHY NOT?) Transplants often need a little afternoon shade to establish. Cabbageworms and loopers are the biggest pests everywhere; they can be in the fifth or sixth generation by the fall crop. Use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) as early as possible -- as soon as the white butterflies are seen -- to control. Flea beetles on tiny seedlings are also a big problem, and can be treated with rotenone. In the warm coastal regions, broccoli can often continue to produce well into March ("We pull them out to plant the tomatoes," says University of Georgia's Wayne McLaurin, so cover the plants if a cold spell is coming. Regional Variety Recommendations Stephen Reiners, Rutgers University, NJ: Packman, Symphony, Emperor, Atlantic, Premium Crop. R. Terry Jones, University of Kentucky: Emperor, Green Charger, Green Belt, Premium Crop Wayne McLaurin, University of Georgia: Packman, Premium Crop, Green Comet, Southern Comet Sam Cotner, Texas A&M: Premium Crop, Green Comet, Emperor George Van Patten, OR: Packman, Green Comet, Dia Green, Emperor Susan Emery, MT: Packman
Provided by NGA
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