On 25/06/2015 11:25 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 6/24/2015 6:32 PM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 24/06/2015 2:39 PM, Mike Spencer wrote:
Two years now, most broccoli plants have headed out very early, giving
2" to 4" heads. In the past, with same or similar soil and
manure, we've flourishing plants that yield 12" to 14" heads.

Climate in NS is a bit wetter and usually a bit warmer than western
Massachusetts or southern NH. We've had an unusually chilly and wet
spring this year (after the seedlings were in) but not last year.

Any suggestions to remedy this? Identify the likely cause?


Just harvest the heads when they are ready and leave the stump in the
ground and then keep harvesting as new nubbeny headlets form. I know a
woman who harvested from her broccoli plants for 3 full years before she
had to take them out.

We do that until the plants die back. I may have mentioned this before
but here goes: we have Bright Lights Swiss Chard planted in a flower bed
next to the front porch. We planted the chard in early May 2013, it is
still producing. We cut it back every couple of weeks and eat the
cuttings, the plants keep producing. Luckily the chard only gets
sunshine from about 0600 until 1200 and is then in shade for the rest of
the day. We live in USDA Heat Zone 8b, Harris Cty, Texas and it gets up
into the low nineties F nowadays.


Here is Oz we call that plant Silver Beet (even the one with the rainbow
coloured stems) and I LOVE it. Such a very useful plantt ohave in the
garden as it means it's always possible to produce a meal from it even
if I hadn't been out shopping for weeks (as if that is ever going to
happen!).

And it copes with everything our filthy climate can throw at it. Below
freezing temps in winter and hot as the hobs of Hades in summer and the
dear old stuff still produces and does so for several years. Add to
that the fact that the chooks too get to eat it as I harvest it on the
way past to their pen. They love it almost as much as i do.