broccoli harvest

fresh broccoli tonight..yummy! from my garden today

IT'S NOT FAIR!! It isn't even late enough in the season to start broccoli sees yet here in central or MO.
The head you are holding looks delicious, Lisa. I sure hope your family enjoys the 'fruit' of your labor.

Broccoli smothered in melted cheese sauce. Boy they sure look good. You have enough to feed the neighborhood.

Hi Lisa! I didn't know we could grow such great broccoli here! This will definitely be included in the garden next year. What a crop! Just beautiful.

Zowie! Now THAT'S a mess of broc! Very cool!

So jealous here. (Having to buy it at the store!)

I'm having pepper steak right now and would sure like some of that broccoli !!!

Lisa, If you haven't already and you know the cultivar you are growing, bring the plants data base up to date. We veggie growers have been quite lax in providing pictures and comments on vegetable cultivars.

My mouth is watering and my eyes are a buggin' Lisa - wow those broccolli look wonderful. Hurrah for you being able to grow them at all, especially this time of year. Any tips on how to keep the bugs from feasting away?

Those look soooooooooo good!

Hi all,
Jean-yep, we can grow broccoli here! They make a great winter crop for us. I was able to grow this crop with out any kind of chemcial use too! That always makes me happy.

Farmerdill, I added it to the PDB.

Shoe, I was able to freeze enough broccoli to last us for the year!

Thanks Lisa,

Southern Comet is a cultivar that I am not familiar with. It is always good to hear about someones experience when dealing with the unfamiliar. That cultivar looks like it forms very nice heads.

Farmerdill: Southern Comet was listed as "new" in Parks '02 wholesale seed cataloge. It was to replace "Green Comet" (which they note is no longer availavble). The Southern Comet did nice for me this year, only a few bolted, which is my biggest problem. I don't mind a few flowering, in fact, I leave them to flower because the honey bees love the flowers so much. After such a long absence of honey bees, I encourge them as much as I can.

Lots of nice side shoots too, which makes for longer harvesting.

I'll not be so laxed in adding veggies to the PDB...guilty as charged...*smile*.

Thanks Lisa;

I have grown Green Comet and it was not a bad broccoli, so Southern Comet must have some promise.

Lisa, another question: Did you start the broccoli from seeds or go with purchased transplants?

And if you started seeds, which month is best to start them in our area?

Thank for any information. -- Jean

Hi Jean,
You can sow your Broccoli seeds from July 15 - Sept 1.
Broccoli is a crop grown best here in the late fall. If it gets too hot, they will flower almost overnight. I've never had luck with a late spring/early summer crop.

Ironically, I bought my broccoli plants from your neck of the woods.(Belle Chase) I can buy them cheaper than starting them from seeds. But, before I started buying them as transplants, I used to direct sow.

justmeLisa,
I have a question for you. About a month ago I put transplanted (sixpack from Lowes) some broccoli and they are doing very well, but, they already have broccoli heads the size of a 50 cent piece. Should I have started them months earlier? I also put in cauliflour at the same time and they are not doing anything yet.


Congratulations on your crop, they look so good. If only one of my plants does that, I will be happy.

Hi Gourd,
I've never been successful with a late winter planting of broccoli. Broccoli and Cauliflower need a long growing season, I have much better luck when planting as early as Sept and as late as early Nov. This year I was late getting my plants in. I like having them in the ground in Sept because that usually gives me a few early heads for Thanksgiving dinner.

I don't know what yall temps are getting to be, but Broccoli/Cauilflower will start to flower very fast when the temps get in the 70's. The heads will flower over night! We are getting to hot now to have broccoli/cauliflower in the garden. Besides the heads bolting, the caterpillars start getting active. I leave my plants in for the bees and beautiful Cloudless Sulpher Butterflies. Broccoli is the larvaes host plant. The cauliflower has long been pulled up.

About harvesting, If the temps are getting steady in the 70's, I'd go ahead a pick what you can now (at least that is what we do here). Enjoy your .50 cents size and savor every bite! If you feel "chancy" leave a few in and watch them closely. You will notice when they start to flower, the heads loose their deep green color and a more yellow green color comes in. When you see that, it is time to cut the rest. Hope this helps!

Thank you for the information, next year, will put them in September.. I should get them out of my raised beds to make room for my tomatoes in there.

There is one other possibility. Both broccoli and cauliflower will " button" if thier normal growth cycle is interrupted. A common problem is that the plants were stunted in thier trays. If they are of the age to head, they will head even if they are still confined to the nursery pots. Once growth is stunted they will not recover. Sometimes adverse weather can also cause this, but most times it is because they got too old and stunted waiting to be transplanted.

Looks great, and wow, how much. I'm still looking at patches of snow, ahhhhh Spring is near, Thank God!!!!

Wow! Never see this pix until now! I was surfing and get all info I can for my veg garden! LOL.. That's my goal to grow some brocilli in fall season.. start in Sept! I won't grow them now cause of bugs!!!!!! Wait until fall season!

Lisa, are you in the witness protection program??? : )

nice broccoli : P

hah! that picture was taken 2 years ago...this is an old thread.(Feb. 2002) I might have been in witness protection then..who knows...LOL! Sometimes I look like a cyclops when I take pictures...maybe that day I was looking a bit cyclops-ish...

:)

I know this is an old thread but wow! what a nice crop of brocolli you had there Lisa.

Lisa--looks like you timed that just right for over the winter down here! And that can sometimes be quite hard to do--with our squirrelly winters or lack there of sometimes. Superb looking broccoli!
Debbie