February Is Brassica Time (Don’t Sleep On It)

I missed my window three years in a row. Not because I didn’t know better. Just because February feels too early and the seed packets are still in a drawer somewhere and somehow it’s suddenly April and I’m standing there mad at myself again. Don’t be me.

Broccoli and cabbage need a long head start indoors. We’re talking 6 to 8 weeks before transplant, and you don’t want to be putting transplants outside until late March or early April here in the Pacific Northwest. Which means if you haven’t started yet, you’re right on time. But only barely.

Why February and Not Later

Brassicas are cool-season crops, which sounds obvious until you realize that actually works in your favor here. They can go out while nights are still cold. But they need to be a real plant first, with actual roots and a few sets of true leaves. A seedling you started last week isn’t that yet. Six weeks is not negotiable.

Also worth knowing: broccoli germinates best around 70 to 75 degrees. Your garage in February is not 70 degrees. Keep them somewhere warm until they sprout, then they’re happy with cooler temps. I learned this the slow way by starting a flat in my unheated shed and waiting two and a half weeks for nothing to happen. Nothing.

What You Actually Need (Not Much)

You don’t need a fancy seed starting setup. I’ve started hundreds of brassica seedlings in yogurt cups and plastic deli containers with holes stabbed in the bottom. The plants don’t care. My wife has opinions about the kitchen counter situation, but the plants don’t care.

For seed starting mix, I use 2 parts coconut coir to 1 part perlite. Cheap, lightweight, drains well so you don’t rot the stems before you even get started. Potting soil works too but it’s heavier and tends to compact in small containers, and then you’ve got a tiny brick of dirt and a very sad seedling.

Plant two seeds per cell or cup, about a quarter inch deep. They germinate fast when they’re warm, usually 5 to 7 days. Once you see sprouts, snip the weaker one. Don’t pull it. Pulling disturbs the roots on the one you’re keeping and you’ll regret it immediately.

Light Is Where Most People Fumble

February in Redmond means grey. Constant, unrelenting grey. A south-facing window is not enough. You will get spindly, leggy seedlings that flop over and look sad, which is a real loss of morale around week three when you were starting to feel good about things.

A cheap LED grow light makes an enormous difference. Keep it 2 to 3 inches above the tops of the seedlings and run it 14 to 16 hours a day. You want at least 2000 lumens for decent vegetative growth. I picked up a basic outlet timer at McLendon’s for $3.47 so I don’t have to remember to turn the light off, which, if you’ve met me, was a wise investment.

Hardening Off: Don’t Skip This Part

About two weeks before you plan to transplant, start taking your seedlings outside for short stints. An hour or two in a sheltered spot, out of direct wind and harsh sun. Add time each day. This is hardening off, and skipping it is how you take a perfectly healthy seedling and watch it look completely defeated by the time you get back inside for lunch.

Late March is usually when I start putting hardened transplants in the ground here. Soil temp around 45 degrees is fine for brassicas. They’re tougher than they look.

One More Thing About Spacing

Cabbage especially needs more room than feels reasonable. Eighteen inches between plants minimum, and that’s not a suggestion. I crammed them at 10 inches one year because I was being optimistic about my raised bed dimensions. Got a lot of small dense heads that were technically cabbage but more like cabbage’s shy younger sibling.

Broccoli can handle 12 to 15 inches apart if you’re tight on space and planning to harvest the side shoots after the main head. Which you should be, because side shoots basically turn one plant into a season-long producer. That’s the kind of math I enjoy.

Anyway. Pull your seeds out now. Check the germination dates on anything older than two years. And maybe label your containers this time so you don’t end up with four flats of mystery brassicas in March wondering which one’s the cabbage. Not that I’ve done that. (I’ve done that.)

Start them now and by April you’ll have real transplants ready to go. Turnip the heat on your seed starting game while you still have time. Sorry. I really couldn’t help it.

Photo by Monika Borys on Unsplash