Lois,
Since your crop is coming in head out of season, it may or may not act typical.

Watch it daily is the best advice I can give. Normal heads should be 4 to 8 inches across. Small tight beads are the signs of a normal head. Loose buds and a hint of yellow bloom is the sign of a head past its peak.

And by all means DO NOT pull out the plant once you harvest the main head, the side shoots that come after often produce more, albeit smaller, than the main head, and will keep producing until a hard frost kills the plant.

Steve

Hi Lois,
Pick when they look like this ;-)

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Great, I will start looking daily for loose/opening buds.

LOL, jonhughes, I don't think they will ever look as wonderful as those pictures. That is some prize winning broccoli for sure.

That is awesome news about being able to harvest until frost.

Thanks everyone!

You are right, Jon grows the prettiest broccoli I have seen. Not all of us do that well. Here is a photo of a head that is showing seperation and bud opening. Still usuable but better if picked a few days earlier. Broccoli will stand light freezes, good until about 22 degrees.
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Yeah, forget jonhughes posts! He's got veges on steroids! LOL Most of the broc you grow won't be quite that large and healthy.
Farmerdill's photos look more like what I grow.
It's hard to explain how they look when they're getting ready to flower. It's kind of like the buds "swell" and seperate. They aren't in such a tight head anymore (am I explaining this right?) As Wayne said, check them daily. They keep pretty well in the fridge, but are best fresh. Nancy

Funny ;-)

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Thanks for the additional info and pictures.

Am saving links to uber-broccoli pictures, such beautiful veggies.

Jon, What varieties are you currently growing? I am growing Emerald Crown and Imperial....wonderful heads of small beads.

Hey Jon, what's the variety with the hundred dollar bills attached? Also, where did you find the seeds?

grandad, good question. I could sure use some of that broccoli that grows 100 dollar bills.

"In the Great Broccoli Rush of ought eleven...people streamed from all over the World to Medford Oregon in search of the monster green headed Brocolli plants that produced monster green backed C-notes"