I began broccoli farming as of my crop rotation program including tomato toes, leeks, peas and beans.
I initially grew them in the greenhouse tunnel, but later also grew them as an outside crop.
The growing of broccoli is fairly easy as compared to tomato framing. This is more so once they have been transplanted. In the nursery stage is where they can be a bit fussy with fungal infections like damping off and being eaten by caterpillars and other insects.
Once sowed the plants usually germinate in about 3 days. I then usually water the seed bed daily in the morning or late afternoon. It helps if the seedbed is mulched as this allows for water retention and use by the plants. If planted in soil-less media like coco peat, the performance is usually better In terms of more uniformity in germination.
From germination to transplanting broccoli can take about 3 weeks. During this time other than watering, and insecticide and fungicide should be incorporated into the tending program. This is to ward off cut worms and fungal diseases of which the most devastating is damping off.
once transplanted and growing, the broccoli usually takes about 2.5 to 3 months to mature. I have found out that the variety matters. A hybrid variety usually has a healthier and bigger head than a non hybrid variety. The greenhouse grown broccoli also matures slightly earlier and again also has a larger head than the field grown ones. I believe the heat retention and more or less controlled conditions in the greenhouse cause this difference.
My experience with broccoli has been good. It seems most people know about its health benefits and is readily marketable. The other advantage is that it is bought per kilo. There is less discrepancy as opposed to selling per piece.
Would I grow them again?
With the relative ease of growing broccoli, I probably will continue to grow them both for own consumption and for sale. Once watering, nutrition and pest control have been taken care of, it is mostly easy to take care of.