GardenBroccoli variety
Bonarda Broccoli
✓ In your garden
Bonarda is a purple sprouting broccoli, ready in about 210 days. It doesn’t make one big head — it throws a long run of slender purple spears. It’s an overwintering type: sown in summer, held through the cold, and cut the following early spring, when little else is producing.
“A cool-season broccoli grown for its tender flower heads.”
Growing basics — shared by every broccoli
Bonarda grows like any other broccoli. The full picture — how deep to plant, spacing, feeding, pests, harvest — lives on the Broccoli page so it's maintained in one place.
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Spacing (in row)
- 18–24 in
- Row spacing
- 24–36 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25–0.5 in
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Water
- Moderate
What is Bonarda good for?
- Steamed & roastedThe everyday job. Great
- Raw & saladsTender florets and stems. Great
- Side shootsKeep cutting for weeks after the main head. Great
From how it grows — kitchens vary.
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Want the full 10/50/90% odds + nearest stations? Open the frost tool →When to plant Bonarda in your zone
Zone 6bGreenhouse or cover on: your start slides ~4 weeks earlier and your harvest stretches ~3 weeks later (shown striped).
Planting seeds straight in the ground only works where the season's long and warm — most gardeners start seeds indoors or buy young plants, or you'd pick your first tomato right as frost hits.
Risky outdoors — it may not finish before frost (~late Oct). Start indoors 6–8 weeks early, or grow under cover.
- Start seeds indoors
- mid Feb – early Mar
- Toughen up outside
- mid Mar – mid Mar
- Move plants outside
- mid Mar – early Apr
- Plant seeds outside
- late Mar – early Apr
- Growing
- early Apr – mid Oct
- Picking
- mid Oct – late Oct
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP above for yours.
What to plant near Bonarda — and what to keep away
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Aromatic HerbsTrialed
Mixed, strong-smelling plantings make brassicas harder for pests to find — real research, modest effect. Keep mint in a pot.
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DillTrialed
Dill flowers feed the tiny parasitoid wasps that hunt cabbage worms. Let some of it bloom near the bed.
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Flea Beetle Trap StripTrialed
A trap strip pulls flea beetles off young seedlings. UMN found mixes of three-plus trap species beat any single one.
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BeetsTraditional
On the classic chart's companion list for the cabbage family.
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NasturtiumTraditional
On the WVU companion list, with an aphid-magnet reputation. If aphids pile on, pull those plants before they breed.
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Onions & garlicTraditional
Old chart pairing; both hold cool-season beds.
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PotatoesTraditional
Old chart pairing.
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Beans PoleTraditional
Chart canon says no. Nobody's proven why. Cheap to respect.
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StrawberryTraditional
Flagged on the classic charts, including WVU's. Mechanism murky; the canon is consistent.
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TomatoTraditional
Flagged on the classic charts, mechanism murky. Skip the pairing if you've got the space.
The badge is the honesty. Trialed = a published field trial · Practical = a real mechanism · Traditional = companion-chart lore. These pairings hold for every broccoli.
Pairings compiled from University of Minnesota Extension, West Virginia University Extension.
Growing Bonarda — the things that trip people up
- An overwintering type — sow in summer, protect it through the cold, and cut the purple spears the following early spring. Keep cutting and it keeps coming.
- Brassicas are cool-season — they bolt or turn bitter in summer heat, so grow them in spring and fall. Feed them well and watch for cabbage worms (the little green caterpillars); a floating row cover keeps the moths off.
Bonarda broccoli at a glance
| Type | Purple Sprouting |
|---|---|
| Days to ripe | 210 days after you plant it outside |
| Color | Purple |
Extra fields from seed-catalog listings and university growing guides. Days to ripe and disease resistance shift with your climate and seed source — double-check with your local extension office before you buy.
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Common questions about Bonarda
How long does Bonarda take to grow?
About 210 days from transplant. Start seeds indoors and set out young plants for a strong start.
When should I grow Bonarda?
In the cool of spring or fall — brassicas bolt and turn bitter in summer heat. Fall crops often taste best, sweetened by a light frost.
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