Broccoli Rabe

Brassica ruvo (Brassicaceae or cabbage family)

Production

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Soil preparation

• Broccoli rabe should not follow after other cole crops.
• Apply compost and other amendments based on the results of a soil test. Incorporate compost and plant broccoli rabe in raised beds.
• Spread lime as needed to increase both the pH and Ca levels. Dolomite lime will also increase Mg levels. Spread gypsum when calcium levels are low but pH is correct.
• A fertilizer company can add OMRI-listed potassium sulfate to compost if it doesn't have enough K to meet the crop’s needs. If this isn’t possible, spread the correct amount of fertilizer and incorporate it before planting. Alternatively, you can side-dress it during cultivation. Divide the recommended rate of the soil test in half if side-dressing. 
• Test for boron and apply only as recommended by the soil test. A fertilizer company can add boron to compost to optimize boron distribution. If this isn’t an option, distribute soluble boron through a water solution with a sprayer directly on the soil. If applied directly on the crop, don’t exceed more than 1 lb. of boron per acre to avoid leaf burn. 
• Jang, Sutton Jr. or Planet Jr. planters in combination with small seeds like broccoli rabe don’t perform well with plant matter on the soil surface, so avoid planting them after tall green manures.
• Create a fine and firm seedbed when direct seeding broccoli rabe for good soil-to-seed contact. 

Common recommended fertilizer rates¹

Nitrogen	Phosphorus	Potassium	pH
120	20-160	0-200	6.2-6.5
1Rates are for New York and are from Cornell University’s Nutrient Guidelines for Commercial Vegetable Production (2019). Check the Cornell website for updated guidelines, or consult with local experts for recommended rates outside New York.

Varieties

• Sessantina Grossa, Spring Raab

Direct seeding information for 5- or 6- foot raised beds

Seeder	Rows	Seeds per foot	Seed plate no.	Depth (inches)	Sprocket setting	Notes
Planet Jr.	3	30	2-3	1/4-1/2		Plants should be thinned to about 4 inches apart for the best product.
MaterMacc	3	12	192 H 1.0	1/4-1/2	12-17
Jang	3	6-12	YYJ 12	1/4-1/2	Front 14/rear 10

Seeding time and number of successions

• In the northern United States, start planting in April and end in May, planting up to 3 successions. When planted in very cold soil, plants bolt too early to have a meaningful harvest. This can also happen with transplants if they experience any transplant shock. Resume planting when flea beetle pressure slows down, or as early as mid-August and ending in September, also in the northern United States. Continue planting beyond this time when located farther south or on the West Coast for a winter harvest.

Cultivation procedures

• Use a basket weeder or wheel hoe when weeds are in the white thread stage, without burying the young crop. Weed control is more effective when you eliminate weeds before they emerge. 
• Use a finger weeder in combination with side knives for a second pass when new weeds emerge. Alternatively, if you want very slight hilling, use spring hoes in combination with side knives. Both methods will eliminate small weeds.

Frost, disease and insect protection

• Flea beetles
  • Cover the crop with floating row covers or insect netting before emergence to avoid flea beetle damage. Keep covered until harvest. Alternatively, use a spinosyn-based product like Entrust. 
  • Fall-planted broccoli rabe doesn’t need any protection after the third generation of flea beetles, which is around September 1 in the Northeast. If possible, follow Extension bulletins that publish the timing of each generation of flea beetles, or place yellow sticky cards at plant height to monitor their presence. Check the cards at least twice a week.
  • Spray beneficial nematodes on heavily infected land to control flea beetle grubs and avoid future generations. Flea beetles tend to overwinter in nearby hedgerows and grass strips.
• Alternaria leaf spot
  • High pressure of this disease can affect broccoli rabe. You can achieve relatively good control with good rotations. If disease still occurs, use regular applications of the biological control Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (as in the product Double Nickel).

Other cultural practices

• Irrigate frequently for optimum yield and plant health. Frequency depends on soil type, evaporation, precipitation and the particular needs of the crop. 

Double cropping and/or cover cropping

• A short-season, transplanted vegetable like lettuce can follow early broccoli rabe.
• For later dates, work under any harvest remains to avoid insect or pathogen buildup, and plant a cover crop. In the northern United States and Canada, you can follow summer- and early-fall-harvested rabe with a cover crop of oats and peas in September, or rye and vetch planted at later dates. Adjust accordingly in other regions.

Harvest

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Ready-to-harvest and quality indicators

• For mature harvest, the greens are 12–18 inches tall with small broccoli heads. For young, tender leaves, the greens are 8–10 inches tall.
• Leaves are dark green without any sign of yellowing or necrosis. Stems should be pale green on the inside without any sign of a white fibrous core.

Harvest procedures

• Wash hands and sanitize knives before harvesting.
• Harvest in the morning hours to avoid field heat accumulation.
• Harvested broccoli rabe should be tender with no white core. To find the best cutting height, look at the cut stem to see if there is a solid-white core in the stem. If there is, cut a little bit higher on the stem.
• Bunch size is usually a large handful. Trim the stems evenly after bunching. Weigh bunches according to the customer’s needs, but a bunch is usually about 1 lb.
• When packing bunches in a box, place 4 bunches per layer, all in 1 direction. For the next layer, place the bunches in the opposite direction of the one below. This allows for an even fill and makes it easier to close and stack boxes.

Washing and storage procedures

• Wash hands and rinse boots before entering the wash-and-pack shed, and cover up field clothes with a bib. If a long-sleeve shirt contains soil, remove this as well.
• Add a sanitizer like hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid to the water for the first washing in the wash tubs or in the circulation tank of the rinse conveyor vegetable washer. Use the guide How to Wash Produce Using a Peracetic Acid Solution to establish how much peracetic acid solution to add to water.
• Wash rabe at least twice in clean tubs. The last dunking can be used to hydrocool the product by adding ice to the water or having the water pre-cooled.
• Don’t leave bunches in water for longer than 1 minute or until the cores of the stems are properly cooled down. Rabe can get waterlogged after a few minutes, which causes it to deteriorate faster.
• Pack in sealed boxes or line the boxes with a plastic liner to avoid having the product lose moisture and to allow for longer storage.

Additional resources

• Production Guide for Storage of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Packing and storage summary for broccoli rabe

Cleaning in the field	Remove dead and yellow leaves.
Packing in the field	16–24 bunches per box. The industry standard is 20-count boxes with each bunch weighing 1 lb.
Packing for delivery	20 bunches per 1 ⅑-box for wholesale. See the International Federation for Produce Standards for the correct PLU code. Add the prefix 9 for organic crops.
Storage	At 32°–41° and 95–100% humidity. Broccoli rabe tends to lose its water content rapidly, so pack in closed containers for storage longer than a few days. Broccoli rabe is sensitive to ethylene exposure. Allow for good air exchange and don’t store with crops that release ethylene.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.