Broccoli Raab Seeds - Spring Rapini, ORGANIC

Minimum Seeds per Packet: 300

Packet Weight: 2g

Planting Season: Spring, Fall

Sowing Method: Direct Seed

Seed Depth: 1/2"

Direct Seed Spacing: 2-4"

Soil Temperature: 40-75 ℉

Days to Sprout: 5-17

Mature Spacing: 12-18"

Sun Requirement: Full Sun

Frost Tolerance: Frost Tolerant

Days to Harvest: 55

When to Seed Broccoli Raab

Broccoli Raab can be direct seeded into the garden as soon as the soil is workable in the spring and again in late summer for a fall harvest. It can also be started indoors four to six weeks before you’re ready to plant and transplanted outdoors. 

Where to Plant Broccoli Raab

You’ll want to pick a spot where your broccoli raab can get full sun and have rich, well-draining soil that has been amended with compost. It will also prefer a pH of six or seven. 

Growing Broccoli Raab

Sow seeds ½ inch deep and two to four inches apart if direct seeding outdoors. Keep your rows 18 to 24 inches apart. As your seeds begin to germinate and grow, thin them until their mature planting distance of 12 to 18 inches. Eat the thinnings - they are very tasty! 

Harvesting Broccoli Raab

Unlike broccoli, which typically produces one large main head, broccoli raab produces an abundance of small florets as a “main head” but also side shoots. These side shoots can be harvested as your crop continues to grow, or the whole plant can be harvested at once. Just take care to harvest your crop because the flower buds begin to open.

Plants of the species Brassica rapa, including mustard greens, broccoli raab, many asian greens, and turnips, are insect-pollinated biennials. They typically need to be separated from other Brassica rapa varieties by one-half mile to prevent crossing and ensure pure seed. Like all biennials, they require a cold period (called vernalization) followed by warmer weather to trigger flowering. The vernalization period of most B. rapa plants tends to be short, so plants of this type will typically go to seed in the same year when planted early in spring.

Their flower stalks can get very tall and may need staking as they grow. Harvest the seeds by cutting whole flower stalks once two-thirds of the seed pods have started to turn brown. Bring the plants inside to finish drying, preferably by hanging over tarps or inside paper bags to catch seeds as the pods ripen and open up. Once the stalks are dry, finish separating the seeds from the pods by crushing the stalks on top of a tarp or hitting the stalks against the inside of a clean trash can. Then winnow the chaff out by pouring seed and chaff from one container to another in front of a box fan running at low speed. Store your clean B. rapa seeds in a sealed container in a dark, dry and cool location.