Broccoli Rapini Microgreens or Garden Seeds Broccoli rapini is a garden vegetable with a rap sheet as long as your arm. This bad boy is also known as broccoli raab, rapa, rapini, taitcat, and Italian turnip and in some parts of the world it’s known as rape. Even in Latin, this villain plant can’t catch a break. Some botanists label it Brassica rapa and others Brassica ruvo. The greens can be cooked like mustard or turnip, the small flavorful florets can be eaten like broccoli. Fresh, sauteed, or incorporated into your favorite soup recipe, this very easy to grow, high yielding vegetable can be grown in your south facing window over the winter. Broccoli rabe, or broccoli raab, is actually not broccoli. It belongs to the turnip family of vegetables but got its name because it grows florets that are similar in appearance to traditional broccoli. Broccoli rabe likes cool temperatures, and seeds can be sowed directly into the soil in early spring. Once sown, broccoli rabe takes little effort to grow a successful and tasty crop. Sow broccoli rabe seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. Space the seeds one to three inches apart. If you want to plant more than one row of broccoli rabe, space the rows 18 to 24 inches apart. Water the broccoli rabe seeds well immediately after planting. Watering pushes the seeds into the soil so they are able to germinate. It takes four to seven days for the sprouts to appear. Thin to 4″ apart. Zellajake Farm and Garden: “Seeds for all your planting needs” since 2013