The harvest begins early and continues over a long season. This broccoli sets solid, medium-fine beaded heads of dark green simply packed with flavor. A bit of frost only serves to sweeten the robust taste of these florets!

Good for spring or fall growth, Batavia is well-adapted and very vigorous. You will find the heads tight and well-branched on sturdy but never tough stalks. It's simply a great all-around broccoli with the added benefits of earliness, cold hardiness, and superior powdery mildew resistance! Pkt is 50 seeds.

The worst problem most gardeners have with broccoli is being able to eat it all! A dozen or so plants will feed your family for the season, so you might want to plan successive plantings (or buy a bigger freezer!). A cool-weather crop, it can be grown in spring and fall everywhere, and even in winter in mild-weather areas.

Sow seeds directly or transplant into the garden when they have 4 true leaves (about 8 weeks from germinating). Before planting, prepare the soil well, adding nitrogen if necessary and neutralizing heavily alkaline or acid soils. If planting in spring, plan to harvest before the temperature reaches 80 degrees; the heads will bolt in high heat. If planting in fall, start 10 to 12 weeks before first frost date. Space seeds or transplants 18 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Harvest the central head first, which will stimulate the production of numerous side-shoots and extend your harvest another few weeks. Once you grow your first crop of broccoli, you'll never be satisfied with the supermarket kind again, so make a permanent space in your vegetable patch for this delicious veggie! Pkt is 50 seeds.