Add generous amounts of nitrogen rich fertilizer to your broccoli bed before planting begins. Leafy vegetables, flowers, and plants can use a lot of nitrogen when they put on most of their growth. By growing these plants where there is too much nitrogen in soil, the plants will use up the excess nitrogen. Title: Nitrogen Management Guide for Broccoli - from Nitrogen Fertilizer Management in Arizona Author: University of Arizona Created Date: 10/9/2003 3:18:47 PM Although broccoli is a heavy feeder, over fertilizing can lead to hollow stems. Because the plants will use the nitrogen and it will gradually wash away, reapply the blood meal every 2 months during the growing season. Many popular broccoli varieties are harvested starting only eight weeks after transplanting. It’s best if the soil always stays moist and doesn’t dry out. In crops that are harvested before flowers and seeds develop, such as lettuce and broccoli, N uptake remains high throughout the growing season. Magnesium deficiency is a problem on broccoli leaves during cool, wet periods and is characterized by interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between leaf veins) on older leaves. Therefore, the last nitrogen application should be only four weeks after transplanting. Provide consistent soil moisture with regular watering, especially in drought conditions. That’s because most plants can’t absorb atmospheric nitrogen, which is an inert gas. Any plant will use some nitrogen in the soil, but plants like squash, cabbage, broccoli and corn use up large amounts of nitrogen while growing. To help plants grow, apply the blood meal in spring. Thin when young plants reach 2 to 3 inches tall. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer. The effects of three nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates (0, 120, and 240 kg N ha −1) and two planting times (May or late June/July) on yield and N use of the early cultivar ‘Milady’ and the late cultivar ‘Marathon’ of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. While nitrogen fertilizers are considered to be effective for plants, the addition of potassium and phosphorus definitely contribute towards soil health and help deliver fruits and vegetables that look better, have better health, longer shelf life, and better taste. Water at least 1 to 1 ½ inches per week. This is a big deal for tomatoes, broccoli, peppers and other common plants in backyard vegetable gardens. italica) were investigated on three silty loam soils varying in soil mineral N (Nmin) in the southernmost part of Norway during 1999 and 2001. Watering Broccoli Plants. Nitrogen is essential to produce high-quality, productive broccoli plants. Plants should be between 12 and 20 inches apart. The amount and type of fertilizer for vegetables should be based on a soil test. The best approach is to supply nitrogen relatively early in the growing period, and not add nitrogen in the last four weeks. Make sure you select a low nitrogen fertilizer for optimal results. Fertilizer nutrients required by vegetables in the highest quantity are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Broccoli is a heavy feeder, so you do need to fertilize your plants 3-4 weeks after transplanting seedlings into your garden. Other nutrients, including iron, copper, manganese and zinc are needed in much smaller amounts. There’s no need to re-apply fertilizer again during the growing season. Since broccoli is a cool-weather crop, it needs a lot of water. The N uptake rate does not always decrease before harvest. Cabbage is commonly fertilized with a total of 90 to 200 pounds of N per acre, in one to three sidedressings before heading starts. Sidedressing after heading might give you less solid heads, slower growth. Nitrogen uptake may also remain high in crops with indeterminate growth. Nitrogen rich fertilizer is needed to encourage leaf growth, and broccoli is a heavy feeder. Fertilize broccoli three weeks after transplanting seedlings into the garden. BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, CABBAGE Nitrogen (N) for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.