my brocolli's gone nuts!

[kinnisoj]

Last year I had a great crop of brocolli. This year the clusters are real loose and what does come on seems to want to flower out. What do you guess Im doing wrong? Thanks for any ideas! J

[alittletouched]

This has happened to me this year as well. Depending on where you are, weather could be the explanation. In my case, we had a sudden early heat wave. The most common cause of elongation of the flower heads and a readiness to flower is heat or drought. Unfortunately, once they start bolting like this, there's nothing you can do. Even the side shoots will want to bolt quickly.

I hope someone else has a better answer for you! I'm sorry they're flowering!

[Sinfonian]

If they're flowering you should have harvested. I'd try harvesting it right away and taste test it. Hopefully it's not bitter.

Good luck.

[kinnisoj]

Well the good thing is that it is not bitter. Me and the girls ate a bunch last nite (gotta feel good about yourself when you see your kids CHOWIN down the raw veggies). Suprisingly enough the flowers even tasted good!
I was still wondering why the plants never put on that head like you normally see. I planted them in raised bed with 95% compost. Im wondering if that was too much goodness for them???? And then with all the rain we've been getting.....I guess Ill go around and see if I can buy some new plants in town today,try and try again!

[gardengirl72]

When and where you planted them last year vs. this year could be a factor. Did you plant the same variety? I'm not a big fan of growing broccoli, but the earlier you can get it in the better. I've got some broccoli in right now and I don't have the highest hope for it.

[kinnisoj]

Well the only thing I can guess is that with all the compost and all the rain plus being in the raised box I think its all been too much goodness too soon. So I have put them on a strick no water diet just to see if we can slow things down a bit. It actully seems to be working. Worse comes to worse the chickens are loving the blooms!
This is the first year with the raised bed idea (thank you to
Patti) so its a bit of a learing curve. But Im still amazed how long they seem to hold the moisture! Plus I ran my dripper line under the soil so I'm thinking not so much water evaps.
I figure another 75 summers and I'll know what Grand Pa/Ma forgot.

[SimplyForties]

I'm trying to grow broccoli under the lights in my basement. It is way too hot here to grow it outside. My sprouts are looking pretty good so I'm hopeful!

[kinnisoj]

Does broccolli do well under lights? If you could keep 2-3 plants going year around, you would have more than enough. And being a frost freindly plant I wonder how they would do in a coverd raised bed? (With a small heater set up)

[SimplyForties]

Mine seem to be doing pretty well although they aren't to the head forming stage yet, which will be the true test. The other good thing about growing them indoors is no worry about bugs. I've got a bunch so, depending on where they are by then, I might try setting some out in my fall bed.

[kinnisoj]

*****UPDATE*****
Okay with the help of mother nature I have put the broccoli on a hard no water diet and they have seemed to slow down to a normal pace. So I am guessing I assumed correct that they were getting too much love...

[Sinfonian]

Ah, so lots of water and tons of sun makes broccoli go gangbusters. Note to self. Actually, I'm excited about the 5 heads almost ready. Anyone need broccoli? Hehe. It took us 3 meals to eat a head. Of course my kids won't touch it and my wife is just starting to like it a bit, so it's just me going to town on it. Yum!

[SimplyForties]

Ah, so lots of water and tons of sun makes broccoli go gangbusters. Note to self. Actually, I'm excited about the 5 heads almost ready. Anyone need broccoli? Hehe. It took us 3 meals to eat a head. Of course my kids won't touch it and my wife is just starting to like it a bit, so it's just me going to town on it. Yum!

They don't know what they're missing!

[gardengirl72]

My broccoli was doing horribly with no additional water a few weeks ago. With all the rain we've had I have hope that I'll have broccoli after all. Though it seems late. Broccoli is part of the cabbage family which is a cool weather crop.

[Sinfonian]

It is a cool weather crop, but it wasn't until we got tons of sun that it went gangbusters. And now I'm about ready to plant my fall crop at the beginning of summer. Of course this is Seattle with an AHS zone of 2, so less than 7 days above 86 a year, but that doesn't sound like much of a cool weather crop to me. /shrug.