My mother loves broccoli, almost to an absurd degree, and she made sure to instill that love in all of her children.
Whether it was roasted with garlic, steamed in butter, or sauteed in a stir fry, I could almost always count on broccoli making an appearance at the dinner table.
So when I started growing my own food, including this cruciferous veggie in my garden was a no-brainer.
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What I didn’t realize in those early days is that growing and harvesting it can be a bit tricky, if you don’t know what to watch out for.
If you are just getting started, check out our complete guide to growing broccoli.
I learned early on that obtaining a harvest of large, tender, perfectly ripe heads can take a bit of patience and practice.
It took me a few seasons to get it right, but I’m finally confident that my broccoli patch will produce an abundant crop each year.
So, what are the signs that it is time to harvest? We’ll cover the basics, and offer some storage tips and cooking ideas as well. Here’s what’s ahead:
What You’ll Learn
When to Harvest Broccoli
How to Harvest Broccoli
Remember Those Side Shoots!
Safe Storage
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
When to Harvest Broccoli
The key to harvesting your crop is knowing the right time to pick the heads.
Let’s say you have carefully monitored your plants through the season, watching for pests and disease, weeding, and taking measures to avoid bolting.
Miraculously, your plants have withstood the elements, and beautiful, full heads have begun to form.
This is the time to pay extra attention to your plants! Once you notice that the flowering heads have started developing, it is a good idea to check on them each day when you do a pass through the garden.
And for an extra treat while you are waiting for the main head on each plant to be ready, you can harvest the young leaves!
They have the same tasty flavor as the heads, and are delicious sauteed in butter or oil.
You can begin harvesting the leaves when the main head is still small and compact, and has yet to protrude above the tops of the leaves.
The small, early leaves are best; once the crown begins to open, the leaves become tougher and lose some of their flavor.
Pick the outermost leaves when they are about 4 to 6 inches long.
Only pick a few leaves at a time, so as not to harm the plant. As new leaves form, you can continue to harvest them throughout the season in the same fashion.
It is time to harvest when the main heads are a deep green – or perhaps a different shade, depending on the cultivar – and the flower clusters are dense with tightly grouped flower buds.
It generally takes around 100 days for plants to reach maturity. Though size can vary widely, a good general rule is to harvest when the heads have reached about 4 to 8 inches in diameter.
Check your seed packets for notes on maturation rates and sizes.
You want to make sure to pick the heads before the flowers open. Harvest immediately if you notice that flower clusters are beginning to separate, open, or turn yellow.
How to Harvest Broccoli
So, your crop looks ready to harvest. Great job! Here’s what you need to do:
First, timing is important. The best time to harvest is in the morning, before the heat of the day sets in. Vegetables will be the most crisp early in the day.
Cut the mature heads off the plant with a clean, sharp knife, taking at least 6 inches of the stalk. Cut the stalk at a point where it emerges from a set of leaves.
It is a good idea to make a diagonal cut across the stalk, so that water does not pool in the center and lead to rot.
Remember Those Side Shoots!
Don’t think you are done with your plant once you harvest the large head. Really, the fun is just getting started!
Aside from those tasty young leaves that will continue to emerge throughout the season, after the main head has been picked, each plant will also produce a number of edible side shoots.
These will be much smaller than the main head, but they will be tender and delicious, with the same classic flavor and crunch.
Keep an eye on the side shoots as they develop, and take note when smaller flower clusters begin to form.
You can harvest these in the same way as the main heads, cutting several inches below the flowering buds, and picking before they start to open into yellow flowers.
If your plants stay healthy and happy after the main harvest, new side shoots will continue to grow throughout the season.
Safe Storage
Broccoli can be stored in the refrigerator crisper drawer for about 5 days.
Don’t wash it before storing, or this will encourage rotting. Instead, wait until just before you’re ready to eat it to give it a good rinse under cool, running water.
If, like me, you have grown more than you can possibly eat yourself in 5 days and need a longer-term solution, the best way to store your crop is to freeze it.
To freeze, you want to blanch it first, to maintain texture and flavor.
Start by washing or soaking the heads in cool water for a minute or two, to remove dirt and any hidden insects, then rinse and drain.
Separate the florets into chunks, sized depending on your preference. I generally aim for 1 to 2-inch pieces.
Cut off the tough bottom inch or so of the stem and add it to your compost. The rest of the stem can be chopped into small pieces to blanch with the florets.
Prepare an ice bath, with enough ice and cold water filling a large bowl or basin to submerge the broccoli in after blanching.
Toss the cut pieces into a pot of rapidly boiling water to blanch them, and let them boil for one minute.
Quickly remove them with a strainer, tongs, or a slotted spoon, and dunk the veggies into your ice water bath.
Shocking the blanched vegetables in this way is an important step, as it keeps the florets from overcooking.
Drain thoroughly in a colander for several minutes prior to freezing.
I like to spread the florets out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze them in a single layer first to prevent clumping during storage.
Once the pieces are thoroughly frozen, I transfer them to a tightly sealed freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
They should last in the freezer for up to a year.
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
Thankfully, I married a broccoli lover, so the tradition of broccoli-themed dinners lives on in my home.
These days, it often makes an appearance alongside other vegetables in stir fries, curries, wraps, and pasta dishes, though it’s regularly featured as a standalone side as well.
It can also add a particularly satisfying flavor and crunch to veggie lasagna. You can find an excellent recipe for mushroom and broccoli lasagna on our sister site, Foodal.
Rich, cheesy, and delicious, just one piece will leave you feeling full and satisfied.
I especially love making veggie lasagna in the summertime, when I can incorporate fresh garden tomatoes into the mix as well!
Seeking something savory to enjoy in the morning?
Take breakfast to a whole new level with sweet potato and broccoli hash, topped with a fried egg. You can find the recipe for this tasty creation on Foodalas well.
This dish offers the perfect combination of savory, sweet, fresh, and rich ingredients. Don’t forget to top it with a spoonful of salsa!
Every time I pile up my plate with a heap of freshly cut broccoli from the garden, I feel an extra sense of pride in knowing that I am carrying on an honored family tradition.
What’s more, whether I am picking and serving up a large, ripe head, sauteing some freshly cut tender leaves, or enjoying some late season side shoots, I love knowing I can harvest fresh broccoli all throughout the growing season.
What are your tips for picking and storing this vegetable? Do you have experience harvesting and using the leaves or side shoots? Share your suggestions and questions in the comments below!
Ready to refine your broccoli-growing expertise even more? Read these helpful articles next:
Harvest in the morning before the soil warms up for best flavor. Leave 2-3 inches of the main stem on the plant. Cut with sharp scissors or a knife to avoid damaging the stem. The side shoots that grow are likely to form more open or spreading heads than the central stem, but they're every bit as tasty.
Broccoli is cool-season crop, so it should be started in early- to mid-spring (depending on your climate) for an early summer crop, or in mid- to late summer for a fall crop.
If you wait too long to harvest your broccoli plant, it will to bolt, or go to seed. This is when the tight green buds bloom and produce yellow flowers. Once the flowers open, your broccoli is no longer edible. If you let your broccoli go to seed, collect the seeds for next year.
Cut the mature heads off the plant with a clean, sharp knife, taking at least 6 inches of the stalk. Cut the stalk at a point where it emerges from a set of leaves. It is a good idea to make a diagonal cut across the stalk, so that water does not pool in the center and lead to rot.
Harvest shoots with a sharp knife. Cut stems at an angle so that moisture does not collect on stems allowing fungal diseases to grow. Check the plant every 2 or 3 days for harvestable buds. Keep cutting buds and the plant will keep producing new side shoots with bite-sized buds until a frost kills the plant.
They'll need those leaves to photosynthesize, which is how they feed themselves. Clip lower leaves on your broccoli plant first, removing them where they meet the stem by cutting or snapping. Don't tear the main stalk!
As a general rule, broccoli can be harvested two or three times for a period of up to three months. The first harvest will take the large center head. Once cut, the plant will continue making smaller side heads for several weeks. Harvest each of these side heads when they are still small, tight, and firm.
Step 1: Slice off the floret stems where they meet the base.
Take a chef's knife and cut off the broccoli floret right where its stem meets the larger stalk. If you cut off the broccoli florets right where they attach, it results in stubby looking florets. Keeping the stem long makes the most beautiful broccoli shape!
Broccoli is a heavy feeder. Make sure your soil is fertile enough by mixing in at least 1 inch of compost at planting time. You can also apply a high-nitrogen organic fertilizer, such as alfalfa meal or composted poultry manure, every few weeks.
Heavy feeders, including corn, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, and cukes, require a lot of nitrogen to produce their flowers, fruit, and leaves. Give their beds a rest by planting carrots, potatoes, beets, or onions, which don't need as much.
If you wait too long, the broccoli flowers will develop and the florets start to separate, the individual buds swell, and the yellow color of the blooms become visible.
Waiting longer to harvest gives the trichomes ample time to develop. But the longer you wait, the more highly intoxicating and sedative your flower will become. This is especially true for indica strains, but even sativa strains can become sedating.
Stash the broccoli in a cold part of your refrigerator — like the crisper drawer — preferably away from fruits and that produce excessive ethylene gas like apples. If there's no room in the crisper, store it on a shelf near the back of the fridge.
Broccoli stems are also quite versatile: you can shred them into rice, spiralize them into noodles, blitz them into hummus or pesto, add them to broths, blend them into soups and even roast them into french fries (yes, really!).
Think it's weird to eat broccoli leaves? It's not — the broad outer leaves of the broccoli plant are edible and delicious, and grow so well in the garden that they beg to be used more in the kitchen!
Flooding your broccoli with frequent watering will lead to poor oxygen absorption at the roots. The extra water can also lead to fungal infections. Both problems will kill the plant within a few weeks. Keep your broccoli plants healthy by watering them only when the top 2 inches (5 cm) of the soil is dry.
A: You definitely can, and should! Broccoli stems are full of fibre and nutrients. I usually take off the outer 'rind' as this can be a bit stringy, then slice the stalk thinly and add it to my dishes just like that. Broccoli stalk is great in stir-fries, curries, pasta – wherever you use the rest of your broccoli.
Broccoli needs consistent moisture from the time it's sown until harvest, to transition smoothly from the vegetative stage, when foliage grows, to the reproductive stage, when head formation takes place. An irregular supply of water may stress plants, causing them to form small, individual florets with a bitter taste.
Harvest in the morning before the soil warms up for best flavor. Leave 5-8 cm (2-3") of the main stem on the plant. Cut with sharp scissors or a knife to avoid damaging the stem. The side shoots that grow are likely to form more open or spreading heads than the central stem, but they're every bit as tasty.
How Many Heads of Broccoli Do You Get From One Plant? It will yield one large head per plant. Once harvested, it will produce several smaller side flower heads over the next few weeks.
If you add Epsom salts to soil that already has sufficient magnesium, this can harm plants and contaminate soil. In addition, spraying Epsom salt solutions on plant leaves can also cause leaf scorch. Excess magnesium can also increase mineral contamination in water that percolates through soil.
As the grounds break down, they will release potassium, nitrogen, magnesium and other beneficial minerals into the soil. Coffee grounds also lower the soil's pH which is beneficial for some types of plants, like artichokes, broccoli, lima beans and beets.
Magnesium deficiency is a problem on broccoli leaves during cool, wet periods and is characterized by interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between leaf veins) on older leaves. Correct this deficiency by spraying Epsom salts mixed at two tablespoons per gallon of water directly onto the plant.
Temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than four days during that period causes uneven bud development at the bud initiation stage, resulting in heads that were uneven and poorly shaped. Other references suggest that temperatures above 85 degrees can cause heat injury.
The most common reasons broccoli flowers are the soil is too hot, too cold, or the plant undergoes too much stress. All of these issues are preventable, but once broccoli bolts, the plant might not grow anymore. Therefore, it is very important to try and prevent broccoli from bolting early.
Flowering Stems: Most likely, bolting broccoli will send up a tall stem that will begin to flower. ...
Flowering Heads: If your broccoli heads are already quite large when the plant starts to bolt, the heads themselves will often burst forth in bright yellow blooms.
If you live in a warmer zone and can find a quick growing Broccoli variety, you can plant now to harvest well into November. Flowers (Zones 3-10): September is a great time to plant those fall flowers. There are many varieties that can be planted this fall to start blooming early spring.
Do NOT plant any of the brassicas (cabbages, kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower) near tomatoes, beans, peppers, or strawberries. Likewise, do NOT plant potatoes near tomatoes or squashes; nor peas near onions, garlic, leeks or chives.
Brassicas are followed by Alliums. Group 3 Alliums like soil that has been composted for a previous crop – so not too rich. They like a fine soil that has been well broken up by the heavy roots of plants like brassicas. Alliums are followed by Roots.
If your broccoli won't head at all, other potential culprits are overcrowding, damage to the root system, or transplanting seedlings too late with roots that are root-bound. So how can you prevent having to squawk, “Help, my broccoli has no head!”? Ensure that the plants are receiving adequate water and nutrients.
Stop Watering 1-3 Days Before Harvest – After flushing, in the final days of harvest, you can further stress your plants by stopping watering. You want to allow the plant to start to wilt just a small amount, because then the plant “thinks” it is dying and as a last-ditch effort, it will increase resin development.
Rain at harvest can increase risk of mold and concealed damage to nuts. Both of these conditions can reduce grower income. The increase in acreage of late harvested varieties in the Sacramento Valley, especially Fritz and Monterey, increases the risk of rain at harvest.
Ideally, you should start trimming days before you begin the harvest process. At this stage, growers usually start removing fan leaves when senescence, or when larger fan leaves start wilting, begins.
The tender stems, leaves, buds, and flowers of the broccoli plant are all edible. Your bright yellow broccoli flowers are not only edible, but some people find them to be quite tasty as well, and they are sold at some high-scale markets as a delicacy.
The broccoli—edible yellow flowers, stems, and all—is perfect for a quick whirl with some good olive oil in a skillet. I'll also add some garlic, then serve it with good pasta. Always, a staple here.
Lay the broccoli in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray or plate. Place in the freezer until completely solid, 1 to 2 hours. Once frozen, transfer to a plastic container or resealable freezer bag. The broccoli should stay fresh-tasting and free of freezer burn for 6 to 8 months.
How Many Heads of Broccoli Do You Get From One Plant? It will yield one large head per plant. Once harvested, it will produce several smaller side flower heads over the next few weeks.
Heavy feeders, including corn, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, and cukes, require a lot of nitrogen to produce their flowers, fruit, and leaves. Give their beds a rest by planting carrots, potatoes, beets, or onions, which don't need as much.
Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture and taste of broccoli will deteriorate into a mushy, grey and unpleasant shadow of its former self, with the goodness leeching away. So, do make sure you blanch it to preserve its colour, flavour and nutrients.
What Happens If I DON'T Blanch the Broccoli Before Freezing? If you do not blanch before freezing, the broccoli will be more mushy, less colorful and have less nutrients available. Texture is an important part and you will want to preserve as much of the fresh texture as possible.
If you plan to rehydrate your vegetables, we've found that blanching them beforehand will help bring them back to that perfect texture. But, either way, simply spread your vegetables such as broccoli, green beans or Brussels sprout on the freeze drying trays and run them through a standard cycle.
The plant grows 18 to 36 inches tall and has wide, green leaves and a generous main stalk. Broccoli forms flower heads of small blue-green flower buds. These flower buds are what will be harvested before they bloom into delicate yellow flowers.
Broccoli requires proper irrigation to achieve optimum growth. Water plants daily for the first week to get the crop established. Continue to irrigate broccoli every four to five days, as needed, to keep the plants healthy. Broccoli is a fairly heavy feeder and will require additional nutrients.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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