As I was looking at my garden this morning I had noticed how large my broccoli leaves are getting. Then I thought "I wonder if broccoli leaves are edible?"
So, while I have yet to harvest any broccoli (hoping soon I see something start), are the leaves edible? And if so, how much of it can a person pick off to keep the plant surviving and produce the apropriate amount of broccoli?
And should one even pick the leaves off or will that harm the growing process?
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- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 6113
- Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 pm
I grew romanesco broccoli Fall 2009. Whenever I harvested kale, chard, and rapini, I also clipped a few broccoli leaves. In a mixed-green dish w/pasta and anchovies, everything was absolutely wonderful.
They probably don't work very well raw in salads, but for me raw broccoli doesn't work well as a crudité, anyway.
As for how many to take off the plant, the general rule of thumb I use is never to remove more than 1/3 of the greenery from any plant at one time, and preferably less. I use this guideline on everything, from chard up to pruning my well-established roses.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
They probably don't work very well raw in salads, but for me raw broccoli doesn't work well as a crudité, anyway.
As for how many to take off the plant, the general rule of thumb I use is never to remove more than 1/3 of the greenery from any plant at one time, and preferably less. I use this guideline on everything, from chard up to pruning my well-established roses.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9