Is this Broccoli growing correct?

I have never had a vegetable garden. My first attempt at cauliflower and broccoli might be a bust. I will attach a pic of one of my raised beds. Is this looking like it is supposed to? I am in the pacific NW. (Harrisburg, Oregon)

Your broccoli has bolted. Brassicas are a cool weather crop and will bolt when the temps get too warm for them. Pull 'em and plant a warm season crop in their place...

Forgot the pic - lol... This is what broccoli should look like when it heads...

I don't understand why your plants are so small? They have definitely "bolted" as locakelly said, but even so I would have expected them to be much bigger. When mine bolt, they are usually the size of the one in locakelly's photo.

locakelly - that's one fine looking plant! I still have broccoli from last fall/winter in my freezer.

Thanks Honeybee! It is Early Dividend, my favorite hybrid broccoli. It does the best for me here!

I too wondered why 734s broccoli bolted so small, but they definitely did...

Perhaps 734 will return and give us more details.

Locakelly: Is that picture of the brocolli , todays picture"?

So you must plant seeds in Oct. , thats when I will plant.

September is the optimal time here to direct seed, but sometimes it's still too hot. Last year I think I planted the first round October 4th. We can plant transplants first of October through the first part of December.

Thank you everyone. The broccoli was not from seed it was planted as a six pack I got at local nursery at beginning of season. We have had VERY unseasonal weather where it was warm (when I planted them) then beyond cold. even snow and hail. seriousl lackof sun and very cold weather. JUST got sunny this week first sunny (in the 70's) this week. The cauliflower right next to it seems just fine. They were approx. 2.5 feet tall when I took that picture. So I should pull them up and start over? Should I start from seed or from transplants? In the pacific nw we have such a small growing season I really was hoping to have some this summer to eat.

This message was edited Jun 22, 2010 12:51 PM

I'm not sure how hot your summers get there in Oregon... You may not be able to plant them now. Broccoli is a cool weather crop and it bolts in the heat. Maybe you can start from transplants in the fall. Does it snow where you are?

locakelly- Yes it does snow but very little & we measure it in inches not feet at least where I live.Other parts of Oregon are vastly different.State has every climate. High desert, coastal, mountains,valley, etc. You could surf in the morning then still make it to mountains to ski by afternoon.

Did I do something wrong when I planted these the tag said resistent to bolt and disease resistant. They were supposed to be for our local area.
Was it the weird weather or did I do something wrong.
They were planted on West side of house in mostly shade I was worried they would not get enough sun because neighbors fence and our house keep them in shade almost 80% of the day. Only get late afternoon sun for a few hours it is the coolest spot on the property. yet my Mothr in law plants hers in middle of huge garden in full sun and never has a problem. Maybe my error is trying to compare myself to my mother in law. ha ha She is my hero and Gardening pro but her tips never seem to work we are in slightly different zones. She is coastal an a LITTLE cooler (by 1-3 degrees) but not much.

Three things:
1. you may have overdone the shade.
2. variety- a long season variety will definite ly struggle when transplanted late.
3. If you bought transplants, they may have been stunted and buttoned. I have seen nuserys still sell them when they had already buttoned. Don't stand a chance.

This also assuming that you tranplanted them into relatively fertile friable soil.

If you don't get much snow and it doesn't get too cold, may be best to plant broccoli in the fall. If you google something like "planting dates YOUR COUNTY Oregon" you should get some info on planting for your local area.

Just because the tag says resistant it is not immune - lol. I seriously don't think it's anything you did. Fluctuating air temps with your weird weather most likely convinced the plants they were done. They would prefer full sun, but in the cooler temps of fall or very early spring. Hopefully your next attempt will be better;o)

Nothing wrong with looking to the MIL for advice. The fact that she is coastal though and you are not I think makes a big difference in your climates, even of the temps are similar. Google for your area or look online for your county extension office and they may be able to give you a better guideline...

Greenhouse, I had the same problem with my broccoli starts bolting. After reading about growing broccoli and input here, I decided mine got too hot while still in the 4-pack and at about 3 weeks from planting, they'd bolted. Apparently, the big problem is the soil getting too warm. Do check your local extension for successive planting dates. Here in the Puget Sound area, seeds can be started in July.

You can still harvest the green tender tops and steam . i like it microwaved and dip with balsamic vinegar mix. Belle