Broccoli question

13 years ago

Was reading that Broccoli needs to be harvested before it even begins to turn yellow - this looks light green to me - any advice on whether to harvest yet?

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Comments (6)

jwahlton
13 years ago
I would pick that now!
CaptTurbo
13 years ago
It's not a big deal if you wait until you see a yellow flower or two. I tend to pour the water too them as they get close to harvest time. The heads grow pretty fast. When I see a flower start to open I cut the head.

I'm harvesting a few heads per day now by this system. I'm convinced that I get larger heads by waiting as long as I can. The heat is on though today so I might well have to make a second harvest this afternoon.
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Okay, good to have more detail. 6 two-inch heads is roughly equivalent to one large head. The plant is capable of supporting a limited amount of that growth, but it will survive the forecast. I would harvest half of the heads prior to the predicted low temperatures, and enjoy that for dinner. I would water after harvest with compost tea or some other hormone-rich low N supplement to help the plant recover. Cover the plant with a cardboard box if you are able to uncover it when the daytime temperature rises above freezing, otherwise use fabric, which will let some light through during the day. Plastic provides less insulation and magnifies the heating effects of sunlight, which you do not want. You could put a bottle of warm water under the cover as well, this will further stabilize the temperature. In a few weeks the remaining florets that you did not harvest will likely have reached a size that is worth a second harvest. Normal broccoli culture aims for one large head, but multiple small heads can equal the same yield. There is a point with most crops when the return won't justify continued effort, and you are better off starting fresh. You could leave one head on the plant to see if it will grow larger as the days get longer, you could cut off all of the florets and see if the plant produces more. or you could pull the plant and replace it with something that will give a more immediate gratification, like some salad greens.
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Comments (10)
Sounds like the plant is buttoning. It happens when the plant is stressed while young and it never fully recovers (it's a big problem with store bought transplants.) Without pictures, it's hard to determine. I run a website about gardening and have pages dedicated to broccoli. Check out the following link: http://www.vegetable-gardening-made-simple.com/growing-broccoli.html Surf through the broccoli pages. They have a lot of pictures of what you should be seeing as the plant grows and I actually used Packman broccoli the year I took the photos for these pages, so this should definitely be what you should be seeing if your plants are healthy. If your getting side shoots before you harvested the main head, then likely the plant is buttoning (sorry, I haven't had a chance to write about that yet so no pics for that.) If the plant is buttoning, it is still edible, just watch the heads and harvest them as you normally would, just realize they will be small. You won't get the 8 inch grocery store looking heads of broccoli. You can also harvest some of the leaves from the plants and eat those. They can be cooked up much like kale, spinach, or swiss chard. I have a recipe on the site for sauteed brussel sprout leaves that is delicious and you can substitute broccoli leaves instead for the same recipe. Good luck! ~Kelly Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Gardening Made Simple
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Comments (1)
Your broccoli should pick up. It always takes mine a couple weeks for noticeable growth after you put them in the ground. Last year, I had the most pathetic peppers, they were so small that I never transplanted them into bigger pots. This year, I transplanted them early, even though they were tiny, into 4" pots and now I have beautiful seedlings. Maybe you need to transplant your seedlings?
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Comments (6)
Broccoli will tolerate temperatures lower than 22F. It is about acclimation and they slowly become more tolerant to the colder temperatures in winter. I wouldn't use the row covers on them to protect from low temperatures; they may help more if used to keep it slightly warmer during the day so the plants will grow more in the winter. It usually gets down to about 10F each winter here and I haven't lost any Brassicas due to the cold. I also haven't had broccoli plants form the head when it is this cold as well. I either plant them early enough to harvest before it is this cold, or the plants overwinter and form a head in February or March. I usually only worry about the cold harming them when we get up to 70F and then drop back into the 30s and 20s the next day. They still hang on though.
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
13 years ago
I try & harvest as soon as I notice the heads 'loosening' & starting to spread out a bit, but before flowers appear. Side shoots will sprout where the leaves join the main stem, so I cut rather short when harvesting the main head.

& don't forget those tender leaves - they're tasty & nutritious as well....
CaptTurbo
13 years ago
I just blanched and froze two gallons this morning and plenty of leaves made it into the pot.

My two dogs like to help me with the prep work. I "debark" the thicker trunks with a knife and the dogs just love to eat the resulting product. They sure are getting lots of fiber!
morganwolf
13 years ago
I like to let some of the smaller, second heads that come up go to flower. The flowers are delicious, and very pretty in salads or floated on some broccoli soup! I also like to save the seeds. You can sprout them & add them to salads after broccoli season, or save them to plant next year.
tomncath
13 years ago
I never thought about eating the flowers or seed sprouts, always left them for the bees...might just have to give that a try :-) I have done it with the radish pods, they're great in salads.

Tom

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Broccoli question

Comments (6)

jwahlton

CaptTurbo

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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b

CaptTurbo

morganwolf

tomncath

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