Broccoli

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I have several heads of broccoli as large as dinner plates, they are still greenish yellow,---I'm not sure when they will be "ripe"--we are having temps in the mid 90's and NO rain in 5 weeks,so I don't want to risk flavor or the veggie by waiting a minute too long. I have no experience with broccoli (other than eating it!) as I usually don't get my garden in early enough for it. It gets hot here very early and I think broccoli and the fall is a better combo for this area.Thanks for your help!

-- Margaret (gjensenii@hotmail.com), May 15, 2000

Answers

broccoli can be picked as soon as the buds swell, waiting to long will give you a nice head of broccoli flowers which are not near as tasty as the broccli.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), May 15, 2000.

Not much better than homegrown broccoli. It sounds like it's time to cut yours. You don't want it to flower. Don't pull up the plant after cutting the main head. It will produce side shoots until the first freeze. Soak the cut broccoli in salt water in case there's any worms. You may be right about it being a fall crop where you live. Enjoy!

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), May 15, 2000.

First of all, I'm jealous. I have nothing up yet but herbs and rhubarb. Secondly, cut out the main heads and enjoy them, but you will get a large volume of smaller heads from each of those plants yet. Perhaps you have planted a variety that isn't dark green. Did you plant broccoflower by accident?

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

If the heads are as large as dinner plates and you're getting heat in the 90's then I'd go ahead and cut them. When the individual flower buds begin to swell to a size just less than a BB in size it's as good as it's going to get.

When the weather started consistently going in the 80's here my went over real fast. The last head didn't even flower, it just started turning brown. We've cut all of our main heads now and are working on the side shoots which I think are sweeter than the big stems. I'll be making a larger planting in the fall because we love broccoli.

..........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.ProvidenceCo-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), May 16, 2000.


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