Sprouting Broccoli and Mini Cabbages for Early Spring High Tunnel Harvests
Elisabeth Hodgdon, Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Providing a diverse offering of vegetables for early spring CSA shares and markets can be a challenge. Offerings usually consists of leftover storage root crops, salad greens, and radishes. Due to their cold tolerance and quick growth, brassicas are promising crops for cool spring high tunnel environments. Last spring, we trialed two varieties of sprouting broccoli and four varieties of small cabbages at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm to develop seeding date and variety recommendations for our region. We harvested fresh broccoli and tender cabbages in mid-May—excellent timing for the start up of farmers market season.
Sprouting Broccoli and Mini Cabbages for Early Spring High Tunnel Harvests (pdf; 411KB)


Upcoming Events
Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting

June 25, 2025 : Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting
Poughkeepsie, NY
At this meeting, we will discuss previous research on using mulch for weed management, including the benefits of stacking mulch treatments with an organic herbicide program. We will then discuss the treatments in our field trial, discuss results to date, and get initial reactions from the grower, while viewing the field trial. We will then discuss the other study objective, using a mechanical weeding system to replace contact herbicide applications, currently underway in the Champlain Valley.