Broccoli Question

[Avonnow]

I planted from seed a bunch of broccoli, some in pots, some in raised beds. Some in yard and some are in the pool patio. The packet said 55 days, I figured from the time I transplanted them. It has still been a lonnnnnnnnnnnng time. At least 70 days - I think it may be not enough sun, we have had alot of gloomy days, colder days etc. They look great - I have some pictures, anything you think I could be doing wrong. I did put sme fresh compost around them all last weekend. They are all in different areas and all doing about the same. The pictures take a minute to fully show, do they look alright and I need to just sit back and wait.
[img]https://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc119/Avonnow/garden/IMG_0038.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc119/Avonnow/IMG_0039.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc119/Avonnow/IMG_0043.jpg[/img]

[Francis Barnswallow]

Looks just fine to me considering the 70 days. It took 5 months for my broccoli to start producing broccoli....and mine was a tiny transplant bought at Home Depot for $4.00.

Just keep an eye out for the tiny green worms, they destroyed my 1.5+ yr old (tiny transplant bought at Home Depot for $4.00) broccoli plant.

[soil]

the bigger your broccoli get the bigger the head is going to be.

[TWC015]

Congrats on the nice, healthy plants.

They still look a little young to me. The 55 day maturity is probably accurate for spring with temperatures warmer and days longer. My plants always take longer in the fall with the shorter days and cooler temperatures.

If you gently move the leaves in the center of the plants, you can see if there is a tiny broccoli beginning to grow. I wouldn't be concerned right now about not seeing the actual broccoli. They just need more time. You may want to hold off on giving the plants any more compost. The leaves are very dark and too much nitrogen will delay the flowering. Also, if they don't flower soon, I'm sure they will around February and March since the days will become noticeably longer and temperature will be warmer.

So I can compare to mine: How fast are your plants growing?

[Avonnow]

Really the fall ones started out great ( FLORIDA) I planted most from seed in September, and it was very hot. Then we got the cool spell end of October and it has been cool alot more, and things slowed down. My beans (rattlesnake & purple pod) produce very quickly maybe 50-60 days, my tomatoes which I start in summer, got loaded in no time once end of Sept/beginning of October arrived, but I just lost three plants to a freak freeze here in Florida. You can see Brocolli above, peppers are all doing well, some of the smaller pepper plants have slowed way down. So I guess the climate things makes a tremdous difference. I love the no bug thing, but if the gloom / doom weather keeps up I guess that will be another obstacle for fall. I have onions and carrots and they seem to be doing well, my first batch of beets did not fair so well. I just tossed them, I planted Maestro peas - that was a horrible disaster they did nothing, got about 5 inches and just lingered, ripped them out and got some called Caseload (?) from Johnnys they look great and have tons of flowers on them now, I also did a lettuce blend which did great and I wish I had done more. Love to hear what you have had luck with.

[gumbo2176]

My broccoli are just about done. I planted them in early September and all of them have had the main heads picked and several have had many side shoots picked also. Those have slowed considerably in production and I'll give them a few more weeks to see what they do. All my plants are at least 3 ft. tall and a good 3 ft. across.

Your plants look good and healthy and should give you a decent harvest. We've had a couple days of below freezing weather here in New Orleans so far and it hasn't hurt any of my plants other than the tomatoes.

[whodat]

Mine looked really similar up until a few weeks ago. And then the heads started popping out!

Not to hijack the thread, but this is related: When do I harvest the first head? I know you have to do it at a certain point in order to get side shoots, but I am not exactly certain when that is.

Thanks!

[jal_ut]

Those days to maturity are often way off for a specific climate. They may work in the area where the seed was developed, but every garden has a different set of values, so things have a different maturation period. For instance, I buy 75 day corn and it takes 98 to 100 days in this location. 72 day tomatoes take 110 days here if they make it at all. Time of year and day length will also have an effect on it as you are seeing. Nice healthy looking plants. They will head up soon I think.

[gumbo2176]

Mine looked really similar up until a few weeks ago. And then the heads started popping out!

Not to hijack the thread, but this is related: When do I harvest the first head? I know you have to do it at a certain point in order to get side shoots, but I am not exactly certain when that is.

Thanks!

The first head comes up in the center. My heads got to around 8-10 inches across and what you look for is the development of the individual buds or beads of the head. I like to harvest them when they reach close to the size of a regular match head. If you should start to see it getting yellow in areas, it is beginning to flower and that is a bit late but still edible. After harvesting the main head, the plant will produce side shoots that will be much smaller but just as tasty. My guess is I've harvested the equivalent of 2 main heads worth of broccoli from each plant so far.

[jal_ut]

Welcome to the forum whodat.
The broccoli head is a mass of flower buds. The individual buds continue to grow in size and when they reach a point of maturity they will begin to open up and bloom. At this point the stems they are on will elongate and spread the flowers out.

To get good weight, you don't want to pick them when the individual flowers are very small, but you don't want to wait until they start to open either. A happy medium works for me. When I cut the head, I also like to take a couple inches of the tender stem with it. Enjoy!

[gumbo2176]

Sherry, if you planted leaf lettuce, you should still have some to harvest if you just took individual leaves off the plants. I planted the blend and it is giving me more lettuce than I really need so my extended family and neighbors are loving my abundance.


This past Sunday I cooked down a medley of collards, swiss chard and kale for a delicious side dish of greens. Here's something to try if you have kale---cut or break it up in fairly large pieces, sprinkle it with a little olive oil and toss it to coat it, sprinkle a little sea salt and fresh black pepper on it and put it in a 300 degree oven till it gets crunchy. That is some tasty stuff.

[cynthia_h]

I see MANY, MANY edible broccoli leaves. You can saute/steam the broccoli leaves with other green veggies like chard, kale, spinach, rapini, and so on.

Cut the leaves off at the main stem. Just the oldest leaves--the ones at the bottom of the main stalk/stem. Use a sharp knife or other instrument, and cut the leaves off as close to the main stalk/stem as possible. Just be sure not to take more than 1/4 or so of the leaves in any given week, so that the plant has plenty of photosynthesis strength left.

You can get a lot more than one meal per plant!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Avonnow]

I did use some in salad with my lettuce mix and other greens, kids are not huge fans, but if I mix them in real good they never know. I appreciate the advice and will hopefully get some heads soon and will post a picture, I will be excited as it is the first time I have grown broccoli. I just need to be patient.

[garden5]

The plants look good. Generally, broccoli don't mind cooler temperatures, even a few light frosts.

I remember reading that you can go by the number of leaves as to when it heads. I think it was something like 10 leaves or so and they start to head-up. Just give them some time and I'm sure you will get some broccoli.