Vegetable · Brassicaceae
When to plant rapini
Rapini, also called broccoli raab or rabe, is grown for leafy shoots and small flower buds. It does not develop the large central head expected from calabrese broccoli, so waiting for one can spoil the harvest.
Sow direct
2 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Days to maturity (estimate)
40-55
From sowing to first harvest; cultivar and conditions matter.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Choose a place for estimated dates and local climate checks.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
These offsets are the starting assumptions used by our calendar for rapini. They do not establish suitability in every climate. Your seed packet, cultivar and local growing advice take priority; in frost-free places the calendar uses monthly temperature patterns instead.
- Sow direct 2 weeks before the last frost.
- Expect 40–55 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
- Sow again every 14 days for a continuous supply.
- Can also be sown in late summer for an autumn crop.
Getting the timing right
Choose a suitable variety and season, maintaining steady moisture in a fertile drained bed. Make modest sowings so the short preferred harvest stage does not arrive for more plants than you can use.
Frost tolerance
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
Classified as hardy, with a catalog cold-damage reference of -6°C (21.2°F)21.2°F (-6°C). Exposure duration, growth stage and acclimatisation change cold tolerance.
Before you plant rapini
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 7°C (44.6°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Harvest tender flowering shoots rather than waiting for a broccoli head
Choose a suitable variety and season, maintaining steady moisture in a fertile drained bed. Make modest sowings so the short preferred harvest stage does not arrive for more plants than you can use.
Cut tender shoots while buds are still compact, before open flowers and coarse stems dominate. Some selections provide useful side shoots, but record the actual regrowth rather than assuming a long repeated harvest. Keep the crop labelled separately from heading broccoli.
What to record this season
How long was the tender bud stage, and did useful side shoots follow the first cut? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: Cornell University: Broccoli raab growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy