Sidekick Broccoli is a compact, open-pollinated cultivar bred from a superior Piracicaba strain that delivers harvests in just 41 days from transplants. This frost-hardy brassica grows to a manageable size, making it ideal for gardeners working with limited space or container growing. The standout feature is its prolific side shoot production: once you harvest the central head, the plant continues yielding tender secondary shoots for weeks, effectively extending your harvest window far beyond that initial 41-day mark.
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Moderate
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Plant Sidekick 12 to 18 inches apart, and it rewards you with a compact growth habit that doesn't demand garden real estate. The real advantage emerges after you cut the central head: side shoots emerge consistently, harvestable every few days in warm weather or every 5 to 7 days when temperatures cool. For a single variety to offer both speed (41 days) and sustained production, that's the kind of efficiency most gardeners chase.
Sidekick broccoli works fresh on vegetable platters, steamed as a side dish, or roasted to bring out sweetness in the central head and tender side shoots. The side shoots are particularly prized for stir-fries and quick sautés, where their delicate texture and slightly sweeter flavor shine. Because you harvest stems 4 to 8 inches in length and can pick continuously, it's well-suited to restaurants and farmers markets where consistent, small-format harvests appeal to customers looking for freshness.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow 2 seeds per cell in 72-cell plug flats, or 3 to 4 seeds per inch in 20-row flats, pressing seeds ¼ inch deep. Maintain soil temperature at 75 to 85°F until germination, then lower air temperature to about 60°F and ensure good air circulation and light. Seedlings will be ready to transplant in 3 to 4 weeks.
Transplant seedlings 12 to 18 inches apart within rows spaced 18 to 36 inches apart once they've developed true leaves and hardened off. Space rows 18 to 36 inches apart depending on your cultivation method.
Cut the central head before flower buds open, using stems 4 to 8 inches in length. Once harvested, side shoots will emerge from the remaining plant. Pick side shoots every 2 to 3 days during warm weather or every 5 to 7 days in cool conditions to encourage continued production. Harvesting regularly signals the plant to keep producing rather than flowering out.
No pruning is required beyond harvest. After cutting the central head, the compact plant naturally produces side shoots along the stem. Simply continue harvesting these secondary shoots to encourage further branching and extend the productive season.
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“Sidekick represents the ongoing refinement of the Piracicaba broccoli type, a Brazilian strain known for its vigor and prolific branching habit. Johnny's Selected Seeds released this as a new variety, selecting it specifically for the compact growth habit and superior side shoot production that the Piracicaba lineage is known for. By breeding for a more manageable plant size while preserving that multi-harvest character, Sidekick brings a practical improvement to home gardens where space is at a premium.”