How Far Apart to Plant Broccoli
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
For a home garden, the answer to how far apart to plant broccoli is 12 inches in every direction in a raised bed, or 18 to 24 inches apart in a row with 36 inches between rows. Those figures come from the University of Illinois Extension page. NC State Extension gives wider field spacing for commercial producers, and its numbers are useful for seeing how spacing changes with the head type. This guide uses both pages and says which figure applies to which kind of planting.
Quick answer
- In beds, Illinois says to space plants one foot apart in all directions.
- In rows, Illinois says 18 to 24 inches apart with 36 inches between rows.
- NC State’s commercial figures for single-stalk broccoli run 8 to 24 inches in the row, with double rows 12 inches apart.
- Bunching broccoli can be planted as close as 4 inches in the row, according to NC State, because the small heads are bundled together.
How we chose these sources
We used two university extension pages. The Illinois page is a home vegetable gardening guide. The NC State page is a basic production guide written for commercial growers in North Carolina. Both were opened on 2026-10-29 and read in full. Neither is a retail page. Because the question is about spacing and carries no food-safety claim, two sources meet the standard.
The pages were written for different scales, so the draft keeps their figures apart. Home gardeners should start with the Illinois numbers. The NC State numbers explain why commercial fields use denser or wider layouts than a backyard bed.
Home garden spacing from Illinois
Illinois sets two spacing rules for broccoli. For plants in rows, it says to plant or thin seedlings 18 to 24 inches apart in the row and allow 36 inches between rows. For plants in beds, it says to space them one foot apart in all directions. The row rule suits a traditional garden, and the bed rule suits a raised bed.
The page also gives the plant’s size, which helps with planning. Illinois says broccoli plants grow upright and often reach a height of 2 1/2 feet. A plant that tall needs room to head out without shading its neighbors, which is one reason the row spacing is generous.
Depth is part of the same planting step. Illinois says to plant seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, or to set transplants slightly deeper than they were grown originally. The spacing rule applies whether you start from seed and thin, or set out transplants.
Commercial spacing from NC State
NC State gives spacing that depends on the head type. For markets that prefer large-head, single-stalk broccoli, it says lower plant populations are used. In those cases, in-row spacing ranges from 8 to 24 inches, with double rows spaced 12 inches apart and raised bed-row spacing of 24 to 36 inches, depending on the cultivar.
For bunching broccoli, the picture changes. NC State says that bunching broccoli, where two to four heads are bundled with a rubber band, is grown at high plant densities. It says in-row spacing as close as 4 inches optimizes head size for that style. The page describes bunching heads as roughly 6 to 8 inches in diameter, which is why the plant count per row is higher.
NC State also describes how the crop is started. It says broccoli can be direct seeded or transplanted, and that bunching broccoli is often grown from direct seeding with precision planters on raised beds. For a home gardener, the page’s main use is to show why a dense row is a commercial choice and not a home-garden default. Crop placement in the wider garden is a separate question; for that, see why crop rotation matters in a vegetable garden.
Plant in season and transplant when it fits
Illinois says that two crops per year, spring and fall, may be grown in most parts of the country. It recommends transplants for spring planting, because transplanting establishes the plants more quickly. It also says to transplant young, vigorously growing plants in early spring, because plants left too long in seed flats may produce button heads soon after planting. For background on hardening seedlings before they go outside, see why plants need hardening off before transplanting.
For fall crops, Illinois says to direct seed in the garden if space allows, or to start seedlings in flats to replace early crops when their harvest ends. The page says to count back from the first fall frost and add about 10 days to the days to harvest from transplants, and it notes that the time from seed to transplant is not included in that count.
NC State gives its own planting windows for North Carolina. In the eastern part of the state, it recommends spring planting between February 15 and April 15 and fall planting between August 1 and September 15. In western North Carolina it gives spring planting between April 1 and August 15, and it says fall planting is not recommended there.
Feed and water the plants you have spaced
Spacing only works if the plants have the water and nutrients to fill the space. Illinois says to use a starter fertilizer for transplants and to side-dress with nitrogen when the plants are half grown. It also says to provide ample soil moisture, especially as the heads develop. NC State gives a figure for water: broccoli generally requires 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, though this depends on location, cultivar, production system and soil type. Prolonged low moisture, especially in sandy soils without plastic mulch, can reduce yield.
The NC State page also compares watering methods. It says drip irrigation is efficient, while overhead irrigation may lead to higher disease pressure. The page makes that comparison for commercial systems, so treat it as a general note rather than a rule for a home bed.
Choosing between a row and a bed
A row layout gives you room to walk between plants, and the Illinois row rule of 36 inches between rows allows for that. A bed layout is more compact, and the one-foot spacing in all directions is the Illinois figure for beds. The two layouts give different plant counts for the same space, so count the plants before you buy transplants.
Plant height and head size are the other planning inputs. Illinois says a central head should be 4 to 6 inches in diameter or larger when it is ready. NC State describes single-stalk heads as up to 16 inches in diameter. A plant that makes a large head needs the wider end of the spacing range, while a bunching variety can take the tighter spacing.
What we could not verify
Both pages give spacing figures, but they do not connect every figure to a yield or a head size. The draft does not invent the missing links.
What the sources do not say
- Neither page gives a yield or head-size result for the home-garden spacing figures.
- Illinois gives one spacing for bed planting, and it does not say whether that figure changes for bunching varieties.
- NC State’s commercial figures are for North Carolina field production. The draft does not apply them to other climates without the local extension page.
- The pages do not give a spacing for container-grown broccoli.
Frequently asked questions
How far apart should broccoli plants be in a raised bed?
Illinois says one foot apart in all directions in beds.
How far apart should broccoli be in a row?
Illinois says 18 to 24 inches apart in the row, with 36 inches between rows.
Can broccoli be planted closer than the usual spacing?
NC State says bunching broccoli can be planted as close as 4 inches in the row because the heads are small and bundled together.
Should broccoli be direct seeded or transplanted?
Illinois recommends transplants for spring planting and says direct seeding can work for fall crops if space allows. NC State says both methods are used in commercial production.
How tall do broccoli plants get?
Illinois says broccoli plants often reach a height of 2 1/2 feet.
Sources
- University of Illinois Extension, “Broccoli,” Home Vegetable Gardening: https://extension.illinois.edu/gardening/broccoli (opened 2026-10-29)
- NC State Extension Publications, “Basics of Broccoli Production”: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/basics-of-broccoli-production (opened 2026-10-29)
