Growing Broccoli Rabe (Raab): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Broccoli rabe, also spelled raab, isn’t a true broccoli despite the name. It’s a leafier, faster, more pungent brassica grown for its young leaves, stems, and small flower buds all together, with a distinctly bitter, mustardy edge closer to a turnip green than standard broccoli.
Fast and hardy
Direct-seed is recommended, sown 1 to 2 inches apart, a quarter to a half inch deep, in rows 18 to 24 inches apart, thinned to 4 to 6 inches. It’s hardy to light frost and prefers soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Transplanting also works: sow 2 to 3 seeds per cell 3 to 4 weeks before moving out, keeping soil warm, above 75°F, until germination, then cooling seedlings to around 60°F air temperature to grow on.
Flea beetles are the main threat
Fabric row covers on young plants are the most effective pest control here, since flea beetles target this crop hard. Control flea beetles with azadirachtin or pyrethrin if row covers aren’t enough, and use B.t. for cabbage worms.
A short, fast harvest window
This is a quick crop, ready in about 45 days. Keep picking young leaves, stems, and flower buds continuously for a harvest that stretches 2 to 4 weeks, rather than cutting the whole plant at once.
Broccoli rabe has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. At 4 plants per square foot, it’s a fast, repeat-harvest brassica for the Garden Designer, a good early-season crop before slower brassicas come in.
Source: Broccoli Rabe (Raab): Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Broccoli Rabe (Raab) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1-1.5 ft
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. It doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
When to plant broccoli rabe (raab), by zone
Every zone broccoli rabe (raab) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Not usually | Apr 29–May 6 | Jun 13–Jun 20 |
| 3a & 3b | Not usually | May 9–May 16 | Jun 23–Jun 30 |
| 4a & 4b | Not usually | Apr 24–May 1 | Jun 8–Jun 15 |
| 5a & 5b | Not usually | Apr 19–Apr 26 | Jun 3–Jun 10 |
| 6a & 6b | Not usually | Apr 4–Apr 11 | May 19–May 26 |
| 7a & 7b | Not usually | Mar 20–Mar 27 | May 4–May 11 |
| 8a & 8b | Not usually | Mar 4–Mar 11 | Apr 18–Apr 25 |
| 9a & 9b | Not usually | Jan 25–Feb 1 | Mar 11–Mar 18 |
| 10a & 10b | Not usually | Jan 9–Jan 16 | Feb 23–Mar 2 |
| 11a & 11b | Not usually | Dec 11–Dec 18 | Jan 25–Feb 1 |
Harvest dates are about 45 days after the sow or plant-out date.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Broccoli Rabe (Raab) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-1.5 ft.
Good companions for broccoli rabe (raab)
- Radish: Radish (including the daikon form) is a documented trap crop for flea beetles, which prefer its mustard oils over other brassicas and can be sacrificed or pulled once infested: the same research cited on the radish page. This is exactly the pest its own placement note already flags as hitting the crop hard.
Full companion guide, including what to keep away from broccoli rabe (raab) →
Varieties worth considering
- 'De Cicco' broccoli rabe: Johnny's Selected Seeds recommends this as a favorite multi-cut, open-pollinated Italian heirloom for spring or fall planting, one of their most established broccoli rabe offerings. (source)
- 'Spring Raab' broccoli rabe (best for: season-long planting): Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as the most versatile broccoli raab for growing throughout the season, a hybrid alternative to De Cicco where a longer sowing window matters more than heirloom status. (source) Buy seeds: Burpee · High Mowing Organic Seeds
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy broccoli rabe seeds
The varieties we recommend above each have their own buy links, for the suppliers that sell that exact variety.
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing broccoli rabe (raab)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Broccoli Rabe (Raab): Not a true broccoli despite the name; a leafier, faster, more pungent brassica grown for its young leaves, stems, and small flower buds together.
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