It’s different from other crops partly because broccoli is temperature sensitive throughout its growing stages.
It also takes careful watching to harvest at the right time.
Broccoli produces flowers like many ornamentals that send up a main stalk with branching floral spikes or stems.
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Whether you’re starting with seed or transplants, know when your variety matures and keep a calendar handy.
Broccoli seeds germinate quickly in five to ten days with warm temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Soaking seeds in hot water for 24 hours prior to sowing can aid germination.
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Different varieties mature from 50 to 70 days.
Broccoli does well as a spring planting in northern zones with cooler summer temperatures.
Start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the final frost.
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Southern growers have better success planting broccoli for an autumn harvest.
In zones 5 through 7, typical weather patterns are the deciding factor.
When spring temperatures fluctuate or rise quickly broccoli can fail to head up orheads may bolt.
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A root system forms and new true leaves emerge from the stem.
Plan to set out spring-grown broccoli seedlings one to two weeks before the final frost.
The main stem begins to develop a small button-size head of small green flower buds that remain unopened.
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This first flower bud is often referred to as the crown.
The ideal temperature for this life cycle phase is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Apply fertilizer higher in phosphorous and potassium.
Too much nitrogen can cause failure to form a head.
Row covers protect against caterpillars and otherprevalent insect pestsat this stage.
Stems branching off the main stalk begin to produce green buds tightly packed around the crown.
Now is the time to keep a close eye on the plant for signs flowers are preparing to open.
Revisit your seed packet and calendar for the “days to maturity” for your broccoli variety.
Agood time to harvestis when the crown topping the main stem is 2 1/2 to 3 inches across.
Combined with branches, the entire head may be 6 inches across or wider.
Watch for flowerheads to start to separate between the stems and crown.
The green buds swell and begin to take on a yellow color.
These are edible and also can be harvested.
Different varieties mature at different times but usually somewhere between 50 and 75 days from germination.
Several factors influence heading up, including temperature, nutrition, and variety planted.
A head of broccoli is considered the main stem and branch.
Each plant produces just one head.
Once the large central head is harvested, florets continue to emerge from leafstalks.
Much smaller, these also are edible.
