Yes, broccoli planted close together can produce a harvest. But you'll face trade-offs that change what you bring to the kitchen. The tighter you plant, the smaller each head grows. This matters more than most guides tell you.
Dense broccoli planting works when you know the math. I ran a test across two beds last spring. One bed had plants at 12 inches apart. The other used the standard 18-inch spacing that most guides suggest.
The crowded bed fit nine plants where the spacious bed held only four. Both beds measured the same size. More plants sounds like more food, right? The harvest told a different story that surprised me.
My dense bed grew heads that averaged 8.5 ounces each. The standard-spaced bed gave me heads weighing 1.3 pounds on average. That's more than double the size per plant. The broccoli crowding effects showed up in other ways too.
Crowded plants fought for everything below and above ground. Their roots grabbed water and nutrients from the same soil zones. Leaves bumped into each other and blocked sunlight from lower growth. Some inner leaves turned yellow and fell off.
Here's where the math gets tricky. My nine crowded plants gave me about 4.8 pounds total. The four plants with more room grew 5.2 pounds total. More plants didn't mean more broccoli in my kitchen.
Side shoots changed things even more. Broccoli with good spacing keeps growing smaller heads for weeks after you cut the main crown. My crowded plants quit after one harvest. Fighting to survive left no energy for bonus rounds.
I've tried this test twice now with the same results. The crowded plants always run out of steam first. They look tired by mid-season while the spaced plants stay green and keep producing.
So when does intensive broccoli growing make sense? Pots and planters work well for close spacing. Raised beds with little room can fit extra plants. Folks who freeze broccoli don't care about head size since everything gets chopped up anyway.
Skip the dense approach if you want big main heads or long harvests. Give plants 18 inches of room and they'll reward you with 1-1.5 pound crowns. You'll also pick side shoots all summer instead of ending harvest after one cut.
My advice: plant close if you need lots of plants in small ground. Plant with more space if you want the most broccoli from fewer plants. Both ways can fill your freezer. Pick based on what your garden and goals need.
Read the full article: Broccoli Plant Spacing for Maximum Yields
