Broccoli Maturity?

I planted broccoli transplants about 2-1/2 weeks ago. I noticed today that several of the plants have small, button-sized heads starting. The plants have at least doubled in size (7-8" tall), but are still fairly small. Having the head start already "seems" awfully soon, even with the listed 45 days-to-maturity. I don't know anything about the maturity process, though, since I've never raised broccoli. My question is, how long does it typically take a broccoli head to form? Or another way, does the fact that heads are forming while the plants are relatively small mean that I will only get small heads? Or will the plant continue to develop as the head grows, too?

David

David, it sounds like you are on the way to a bumper crop! I can't help with the time to maturity- I guess when you can't stand it any longer-it's time to harvest! LOL

David - I think it would depend on the type of broccoli you are growing. Usually the seed package says how long from seed to harvest, or from transplant to harvest.

From my notes this year, I have written: broccoli seeds sown indoors Feb 1st - should be ready to harvest Apr 17th.

Personally, I wait until the head looks as though it's about to flower before harvesting. Even if they do flower, they are still edible, although they begin to taste bitter if left too long. (We eat 'em anyway. We LOVE broccoli!)

If it warms up later today, I'll be setting-out my broccoli transplants. They have been hardened off, and are ready to go.

dreaves maybe your broccoli are "buttoning".
Read this article:

While the cole crops are cool season vegetables, they should not be planted when temperatures are consistently below 50 F. Broccoli and cauliflower plants exposed to prolonged periods (four or more days) of temperatures below 50 F may form heads prematurely. This premature head development is called buttoning. Buttoning occurs when plants are exposed to stressful conditions, such as prolonged periods of cold temperatures, dry conditions, and infertile soils. Also, large plants are more likely to button than young plants. Plants that button do not form usable heads.

full article here:
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1997/3-21-1997/broc.html

I used to have the same problem with my brocolli. Also they seems to never form a good head if planted at this time of the year. The only thing they want to do is to bolt because it was too hot.
I resolved the problem planting broccoli in the fall. I harvest from October to January/February.
I start the seeds indoor in august. Plant them out in september.

Our temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 60's for at least the next 10 days, so it would appear to be perfect for setting out broccoli.

I only have eight transplants to set out this Spring because I prefer to grow broccoli in the Fall.

I'll start seeds again indoors in late August and set them out around mid-September. That's the plan anyways!

Interesting info, thanks! My overwintered broccoli has some heads about 4" across, and are beginning to flower. My little tiny lettuces inthe same plot are bolting, so I knew we had issues. They were planted in the fall, and never did much. They also didn't die, so I figured i could let them just hang until I needed the space. The winter was very cold (for us) down into the low teens with much too much frequency, but they survived. I did cover them for extended periods.

Looks like maybe 20% of my plants may be "buttoning". I guess it is possible that the variety I bought is not very good for a spring crop in Texas. I may have let the transplant get to big before planting, too. They were pretty good size when I bought them, but then I had to hold them for over a week because of the arctic cold snap that hit us.

I planted a second batch yesterday, grown from seed. They were much smaller, which, according to some things I read might help reduce the buttoning. This batch is a different cultivar, so I will see how it does.

David

dreaves keep us updated on how your second planting of broccoli will do.
I never had good luck on planting my broccoli in february. They just want to flower because of the hot weather.
Good luck

Thanks for the info. I always wondered why my broccoli never did well. I'm going to try again this year, wish me luck

Yehudith

One good thing if your plants are "buttoning" - the leaves are yummy as greens.

I I tried direct seeding cole crops in a raised bed last season and the whole process was a disaster. This season I am making some serious changes in the way I set up and operate my raised beds. I have just planted the first round of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds which should be ready to transplant into the intended raised bed by about mid-April, followed by two week intervals of new transplants. The article drthor referenced spacing requirements of eighteen inches. I had planned on twelve inches between these plants to optimize bed space. I presume selective early harvesting and replacement of some of these plants with new transplants would allow for closer spacing. Any thoughts?

Cabbage and broccoli can go closer than 18 inches, but cauliflower needs the space. I also tried direct seeding of cole crops this season, dismal failure. I prefer transplanting.

Thanks for the tip Calalily. I was checking the results of my seed propagation and the cole crop seeds are pretty week, small seeds, with tiny plants where they came up. I will replant today and treat them like leaf lettuce simply adding a bit of the germination mix over the seeds rather than making a 1/4th inch hole in the media. This my first attempt at raising cole crop transplants so it seems I made my second big mistake. Like you direct seeding was a complete waste of time.

I plant broccoli in the fall. This year, hoping to plant my own transplants by September 1st.

This pic is dated 01-21-2010.

P.S. I grow cabbages, broccoli, cauliflowers, and kohlrabis in 5-gallon eBuckets in my Small Space garden. They LOVE the built-in reservoirs and take up water when THEY want to. All I have to do is fill em every 4-5 days or so...

This message was edited Mar 22, 2011 10:00 AM

Gymgirl, I have been working on ideas for winter indoor gardening and after seeing your pic I have decided to try bucket gardening for the same plants you mentioned here. I have never tried earth buckets so I can't relate to pic in question, but can you grow more than one plant per bucket. I realize broccoli will send out new plants after being cut, but cabbages, cauliflowers, and kohlrabi I presume would be just a single harvest. I would like to try this using either five gallon buckets or 2.5 gallon pots, and using some of the new ideas you and others have been posting on raised bed intensive gardening, container gardening and elsewhere.

I built a two tiered planter stand made of wood which is in my garage. The six foot long stand has two six foot heat mats from Grower's Supply for added warmth if necessary. The ambient temperature stays around fifty degrees during the winter months. I have room on the bottom shelf for probably four or five 5-gallon buckets or six to eight 2.5 gallon plastic pots which I use for pepper plants, herbs and some winter leaf lettuce. My attempts so far at indoor gardening in containers this winter have been pretty amazing. Obviously you can't grow a lot of food but it sure beats having to buy 'quality' foods from the grocery stores out of season.

One of the techniques I have tried in a lettuce crisper with a mix of red salad bowl lettuce and some baby spinach are to line the bottom of the container with an inch of sphagnum moss and bottom water through a section of 1-inch PVC piping. The pipe has a piece of nylon panty hose held in place with a rubber band so the pipe stays clean. The pipe is placed in a corner of the lettuce crisper and I can visible see the water level and can add more as required. I now have a free unlimited source of wood chips which will take the place of the sphagnum moss in future container plantings.

I must admit I am getting really excited about indoor winter gardening and postings like yours Linda. "More Imput" ...Please!

Mraider3,

Here's another pic of eBucket success - Cabbages.

Here's the link to a tutorial on converting a 24" planter into an ePlanter. The instructions are the same for constructing an eBucket using an overturned plastic colander for the soil base.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1094601/

Linda

MRaider3,

Here's the Link to the eBucket construction discussion from it's inception.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1011889/

On the continuation threads is a design for a Strawberry eBucket, too! The design is really very, very simple. Don't get bogged down in the reading and get all confused.

Just refer back to the instructions on this tutorial and you won't go wrong with constructing your eBuckets!

Lemme know how you make out.

P.S. Eggplants and bell peppers love the eBuckets, too. Seems like all the "water Hog" veggies love having access to that built-in reservoir.

Linda

Here is one of my mature broccoli heads. Most of the plants didn't form tight heads and bolted in the warmer than normal spring that we had in central Texas. This variety is a hybrid, "Major". Taste is okay, but to be honest it isn't that much better than the grocery store variety.

: (

David

try planting again in the fall.
i will start broccoli from seeds in August and I hope to be able to transplant them outside at the beginning of September.
First broccoli will be in October and you will see the huge heads and taste different.

Drthor,
Is August soon enough to start for a September plantout?

I start my broccoli seeds indoor in August and yes it is perfect in my zone, but you are a little warmer ... which I dunno.
The past year I finally learnt how to start really good plants from seeds. Good light and soil mix.
So in one month they will be ready to go outside. Even if it is still hot - and hard to believe.
I am not doing a second crop of tomatoes this year (it is not worth here). So I can use this space for tons of broccoli like I did last year. Sooooooo delicious .... I am Italian and I can cook !!
My DH wants me to open a restaurant ... AH AH

Drthor,
With your kinda garden harvests, and the fact that you can cook, I could very well see you opening a cottage restaurant extoling all fresh ingredients, and the virtues of eating fresh from the garden!

Hmmmmmmmm.. "Garden Fresh" or "The Garden" could be catchy names for your new restaurant. Lemme know when you launch, and I'll come for opening day!

FUNNY ...

SERIOUS!

I spoke with my daughter last night about a chef in Colorado Springs where she lives who grows everything he prepares in his restaurant including chicken and dead cow. I find it fascinating that someone can accomplish both tasks and do justice to each. I only sleep about four or six hours in 24 and I don't have enough time to keep up with all the things I would like to do with just my garden.

This morning I noticed the broccoli has tiny heads forming. I'm hopeful they will be ready before the hot weather sets in.

I'm watching broccoli with you, HoneybeeNC. My heads are only about the size of pingpong balls. I'm not too hopeful because they are not the deep green that last fall's crop was. They look too yellowy to me -- although it is a different variety, I'm still thinking they should be more green! But considering the early heat we have here, I guess I'm lucky anything is happening.

Also, yesterday, the leaves were absolutely untouched -- no holes. Went out this morning and I could not believe all the holes. All in less than one day! Makes me really annoyed!!

LiseP - did you get hail overnight? Hail will put holes in your veggie leaves. Other than that, the culprits could be slugs, flea beetles, or cabbage loopers.

Try some fish emulsion to green-up those leaves. If it's just the very bottom leaves that look yellow - just remove them - that's what I do. LOL

No hail, no slugs. It's probably the flea beetles or cabbage loopers.

I did see a little green caterpillar chowing down on my red romaine this morning, but rather than holes, it was just munching the whole thing.

LiseP - yes, some caterpillars start eating at the edge of leaves and keep going!

I was looking at my roses the other day and saw lots of buds had holes in them. As I'm standing there, several loopers dropped on me. They were falling out of the oak tree above my head! I did squish what loopers I actually saw, but didn't spray the roses as I figured sooner or later wasps would come by and carry off those I missed.

Found a looper on my broccoli this morning - it was very small, an now it's dead!

Diamondback moth caterpillars leave holes with a bit of the membrane from the leaf still there. They will ruin a plant overnight.
My broccoli is heading and Belstar is making beautiful heads. Marrathon is making weird heads and is wanting to bolt.
It is way hotter than normal here.

It's cold and wet here today, which is why I have time to be on DG. I've been watching the broccoli daily, and one should be ready very soon.

HoneybeeNC, I finally pulled my broccoli this morning. Four heads, none of them bigger than a baseball, but the middle was starting to tinge yellow so I figured it was as big as it's going to get. And the four plants were taking up a half a raised bed -- prime real estate for me -- so I had no wish to let them squat any longer in hopes of some side shoots.

In their place, I've put some tomato plants I didn't have pots for. It's probably too late to be putting them in, but what the heck.

The good news is, I've got broccoli for dinner!

LiseP - I cut seven (of eight) a couple of days ago. Like yours, the heads were beginning to show yellow. Mine were a nice size, but not as large as they can get.

I blanched and froze mine - we opted to have beets with dinner.

I put some sweet pepper transplants between the broccoli, and left the mother broccoli plants incase they set some side-shoots. If they don't produce any, I'll pull them out to let the peppers have more room.

Next time you cut your main head, leave about 1.5 inches of the main stem above the soil line. Use a SHARP knife or single-edged razor to cut a "cross" in the top of the stem. Cut about 1/8"-1/4" deep into the stem. Continue watering the plant and watch what happens...

Oh, all right. New shoots will develop where you scored the stem.

Gymgirl - I did not know that! Thanks for the tip. I'm planning to grow a main crop of broccoli this fall/winter, so will try your tip as I cut them - hopefully I'll be able to extend the harvest into this time next year.