Broccoli
An open-field crop of Almería's Levante, sharing the cool season with lettuce and cauliflower. Sown in the heat, cut in the cold — before the head opens its buds.
Broccoli belongs to Almería's other huerta, the one growing under open sky: a brassica of the Levante's fields, expressly cited in the area's plant-health monitoring of leaf crops, joining lettuce and cauliflower in the cool-month rotation. Its provincial production is real, though far less dominant than the coastal crops under plastic — here diversity counts, not volume.
The plant first builds its foliage, then forms a compact head that is cut before the flower buds open; the cool nights tighten the florets and give them their deep green. The October-to-spring window is a seasonal indication rather than a hard boundary — variety and planting date shift it.
At the table it is a newcomer that has quickly earned its place: sautéed with garlic, in winter soups, or simply boiled and dressed with a good oil from the valley.
Season
Open fields in the cold months
In the Levante, broccoli lays out a flat, orderly landscape: rows of broad, blue-green leaves with compact heads peeking through. No plastic on the horizon — just open fields, with lettuce and cauliflower in the neighbouring plots, keeping time with the cool months.
Staggered sowings under an open sky
Here broccoli is an open-field crop: sowings are staggered from summer onwards so that cutting runs from autumn to spring, with no shelter beyond the Levante's own climate. After each cut, the plot goes back into the cool-season rotation it shares with lettuce and cauliflower.
