Early Purple Sprouting, Heirloom Broccoli Seeds

Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli — The Old English Overwintering Heirloom That Fills Your Garden When Everything Else Is Dead

Originally bred in England for overwintering, Early Purple Sprouting (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is a fall-planted heirloom broccoli that won’t be ready for harvest until spring — and that’s exactly the point. Plant it in fall, let it overwinter, and come spring you’ll be rewarded with a stunning supply of large purple side shoots from plants that grow up to 3 feet tall and are absolutely full of color and flavor. This is not your typical heading broccoli. It’s a whole-plant, whole-season vegetable: harvest the leaves over winter when healthy greens are nearly impossible to find, then harvest the purple shoots in spring before any traditional heading broccoli could even be transplanted. ~9,000 seeds/oz. 59 days (spring/summer) or fall-planted for spring harvest.

Thinly slice the leaves and sauté with garlic, olive oil, and a little salt — add a touch of balsamic when removed from the stove. An amazing addition of color to your garden and a great use of space over winter when most gardens sit empty.

Why Grow Early Purple Sprouting?

• Old English overwintering heirloom — bred specifically to survive winter and produce in spring
• Massive 3-foot plants — full of large purple side shoots; stunning in the garden
• Edible leaves all winter — a rare source of fresh healthy greens when everything else is dead
• Prolific side shoot production — keep harvesting; the more you pick, the more it produces
• Extremely frost-hardy — survives hard frosts that kill heading broccoli varieties
• Beautiful purple color — stunning raw in salads; turns green when cooked
• Fills dead garden space — productive through winter when most beds sit empty
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

For overwintering harvest: plant in fall, allow to overwinter in the ground — plants will not produce side shoots until after overwintering, then produce prolifically in spring. For spring/summer production: direct sow or transplant after last frost for harvest in approximately 59 days. Space plants 18–24 inches apart in full sun in fertile, well-draining soil. Keep soil consistently moist. Harvest central head first, then harvest side shoots regularly — keep them picked to encourage continued production. Harvest leaves throughout winter as needed.

A note on sustainability: Early Purple Sprouting is a perfect example of diversified planting — in years when late frosts kill heading broccoli, this variety survives unharmed. Learn to use a variety of plants at different times of year and you will succeed when others fail.

Packed and shipped by Box Garden Seeds LLC — heirloom seeds grown without GMOs, selected for flavor, resilience, and your garden’s success.