Broccoletti

This flowering-headed broccoli, also known as Friarielli, is an annual, sending up long,  delicious, tender flower stalks within 50 days of planting. Trim any tough stems, and prepare the florets sautéed, steamed, grilled, broiled or roasted. Sauté boiled broccoletti with olive oil, salt, garlic, Italian chilis, and add a squeeze of lemon. As broccoletti seems to be something between a broccoli and Gai Lan, the leaves are also edible, like kale or collards. Similar to broccoli rabe, rapini, and napini. 

This seed comes to us from the Italian Garden Project who gathered them from Domenico Carpico in Jefferson Hills, PA. Domenico was born in the town of Sora in Lazio, Italy. Seed was shared with him by a Calabrian coworker at a steel mill where they worked laying bricks. 

This seed is part of the Italian Garden Project’s Italian American Collection.

This collection represents seeds from the most cherished vegetables of Italian immigrants, those flavors that just couldn't be left behind. Only the best of the best would have been deemed worthy of the passage from the Old World to the New. These are seeds which have been passed down through families for generations, saved from the most vigorous specimens hand-selected each season. When they arrived in America, they were lovingly propagated in backyard gardens and traded as valuable commodities within Italian communities.

Heirloom seeds such as these which have been nurtured over hundreds of years and traveled across continents are at risk of being lost and their histories forgotten. In order to safeguard these treasures, The Italian Garden Project has been seeking out these heirlooms from across the US and serving as their caretaker. And now our partnership with Truelove Seeds and their growers ensures that these unique varieties will continue to flourish and provide the authentic flavors of the past well into the future.

Days to maturity: 50

Seeds per pack: 125

Germination rate: 76% on 11/01/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Either start indoors or direct sow. Sow seeds 1/4" deep in potting soil 4-8 weeks before the last frost, and transplant 6" apart just before the last frost. Alternatively, mix seeds with sand and direct sow in early spring, thinning to 6" apart. Eat the thinnings! 

Seed keeping notes

Isolate by 1/2 mile from other flowering members of B. oleracea, including Collards, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts to avoid unwanted cross-pollination. Allow seed pods to turn brown and dry before seed harvest. Protect from birds.

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