Hi there, I grew some broccoli over the mild winter and can't quite remember how long it took for head formation. But I think about a couple of weeks at least, though it might have been because the weather was cold. Surprisingly, I found that the heads can stay on the plant quite long. I didn't stagger my planting so I ended up with a lot of broccoli ready at the same time which I couldn't eat at once. All that happened was that the flower heads got larger, looser and started to look more like buds, but they still tasted very good. Once again though, that might have been because it was still pretty cool. If the temps start rising, your plant might bolt faster. I didn't fertilize nor do any special watering. Hope that helps!

3"? From this day forward, keep a daily eye on them. Don't look for 8-9" heads -- you may not get them. Look for the florets starting to separate. Just a bit of separation, harvest it. Don't cut TOO low on the main stalk as the nodes below the harvest cut is where the sides shoots will form. Once they start to separate, that's it -- it's actually a little past it's prime. So, from there, you know that you want to harvest the other heads just a bit sooner. Once separated, they'll start to bolt. .I've never noticed a drastic change in taste on bolted broccoli, but the stalks will become woody. Flowers? Well past picking time. The smaller shoots are just like the main head. They do tend to bolt quicker, so every few days, go out and harvest or check. After a while you get the feel when a head or shoot is ready. Nice and tight--- good. Separation--- bad. Side shoots will continue. Just harvest before separation. I've had broccoli go all summer and fall with side shoots. Water well and mulch heavily when it really heats up. Kevin This post was edited by woohooman on Tue, May 6, 14 at 12:58

The broccoli is going to flower and then go to seed. Once the heads are formed, harvest them and the plants will continue to produce side heads. Broccoli likes fertile soil. Your lettuce did well because of the high nitrogen content of your soil. Fertilizer is rated %-%-%. The first number is nitrogen which is essential for green leaves. The next number is phosphorus which is for root growth such as carrots. The last number is potash which nourishes stems and the rest of the plant. To find out what your soil needs contact your county Agriculture agent on how to get your soil tested. It might take 3 weeks or more. It probably will be too late for this season. My thought is, for now, leave it alone, observe, and learn for next year.

Paula, Saving broccoli seed is more complicated than you think. First of all, Packman is a hybrid variety so seed saved from it could give you anything...or a variety of things...some of the seed might give you a plant very similar to Packman but others could give you something completely different. So, save seeds from hybrids at your own risk. Secondly, if you grew only one member of the Brassica oleracea family and there weren't any other of those family members in nearby gardens (within about a mile) flowering at the same time, you can save seed. However, all the Brassica oleracea family members will cross with one another, so if you had more than one variety of them [broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage (except Chinese cabbage), kale, kohlrabi and collards], you could get crossed seed. Most broccoli and cauliflower plants are self-incompatible so need to be pollinated with pollen from other plants of the same variety, so to ensure genetic diversity and good seed set, you should have a minimum of 20 broccoli plants allowed to go to seed and save seed from all of them. Saving seed from just a single plant or two, four or six over the years causes your broccoli to 'run out', which means it regresses with each generation and weakens. Serious seedsavers (those who grow seed to preserve heirlooms for posterity) grow a specific number of broccoli plants for seed only and let all those plants go to seed and harvest seeds from the main heads because they are superior to those from side shoots. So, I don't know if you'll find harvesting seed from Packman to be worthwhile since it is a hybrid....I don't know anyone who saves it and exactly for that reason. Dawn