Growing Fall Broccoli in Tucker, Georgia

This is the first fall season for the Henderson Park Community Garden and several people had great success planting fall crops. One of the most bountiful crops came from Steve Vellines and he was kind enough to share his recipe for successful fall broccoli via Q&A.

(Q) What summer crops were grown in the area where the broccoli was planted?
(A) Crookneck and Zucchini squash

(Q) Did you add any supplemental fertilizers during transplanting – either in the soil or as a spray ?
(A) The soil was amended with some Farmer D’s Compost and Farmer D’s chicken fertilizer. Nothing else was added.

(Q) When did you transplant your broccoli?
(A) The plants were seedlings from Farmerd and were transplanted in early September.

(Q) What was the weather like when you planted?
(A) It was a sunny day (warm, but not hot).

(Q) What time of day did you plant?
(A) In the morning

(Q) How big / hearty were the plants at the time of transplant?
(A) The plants were about 8 inches tall and healthy.

(Q) Since we’re still in drought conditions – how much (if any) supplemental watering did you do and how often?
(A) The plants were watered some, but not every day.

(Q) Did you lose any of your plants?
(A) All 4 plants survived and they all look great.

(Q) Did you have any pest problems? If so, how did you address them?
(A) Around two weeks after planting, inch worm size caterpillars (cabbage worms) were munching pretty good on the leaves. I dusted all the plants with the organic pesticide (Dipel) that was in the tool shed. I think that did the trick and the plants took off from there.

Congratulations to Steve and his fantastic fall crop of broccoli. We look forward to hearing more from our gardeners and their recipes for success.

John