When do you know it's time to harvest broccoli heads? I alwys seem to wait
too long and then there's flowers. What's the rule of thumb?

"FDR" wrote:

When do you know it's time to harvest broccoli heads? I alwys seem to wait
too long and then there's flowers. What's the rule of thumb?


I can see a color change just before flowering, but I like to harvest
before then. Younger is more tender. Since these plants don't take
up a huge amount of space like squashes and melons, just plant more at
the beginning of the season, and maybe plant a few a week before the
others. When those begin to flower the first time, harvest most of
the other heads. After that, you just have to watch. I haven't found
much consistency later in the season.

"Harry Chickpea" wrote in message
...
"FDR" wrote:

When do you know it's time to harvest broccoli heads? I alwys seem to
wait
too long and then there's flowers. What's the rule of thumb?


I can see a color change just before flowering, but I like to harvest
before then. Younger is more tender. Since these plants don't take
up a huge amount of space like squashes and melons, just plant more at
the beginning of the season, and maybe plant a few a week before the
others. When those begin to flower the first time, harvest most of
the other heads. After that, you just have to watch. I haven't found
much consistency later in the season.

Heads full of flowers don't appear overnight, so keeping a watchful eye is
good advice. At the first hint of yellow on the first plant, it/s pickin'
time.

You could also keep an eye on the 'days to maturity' date. If it/s 65 days,
then add that number to the date you set the plants in the garden. Same
technique holds true for most other transplants. If seeds are sown directly
in the garden, then add the 'days to maturity' to the date when most of the
seeds have germinated.