You’d think that the hard part would be getting the seeds to germinate and coaxing that little seedling to grow. But time and again I see gardeners stumble just at the finish line: harvesting.
All season long plants have been tended and, just at the big, edible moment of payoff, the gardener hesitates: “Is it ready? Should I wait? Will it get bigger? Am I too late?”
Nothing seems to stump new gardeners more than the harvesting of broccoli and cauliflower. This makes sense, really. Most of the fruiting “vegetables” like tomatoes and peppers turn color when they are ready to be harvested so there’s a strong visual clue. Most of the leafy vegetables can be harvested at many sizes and still give you a great result: baby lettuce = yum! Head lettuce = yum!
But with broccoli and cauliflower you are really playing a game of chicken with the plant. You are trying to let the head grow as big as possible without going over and into the flowering stage, when it turns tough and bitter.
Funny, It Doesn’t Look Like A Flower
That’s just how I like my broccoli.
To figure out when to harvest, it helps to know a little about what you are actually eating when you eat broccoli or cauliflower. It’s a bit easier to explain with broccoli – and I have a bunch in my garden right now so I can show what I’m describing – so I’ll use that example, but everything I’m about to say holds true for both vegetables.
Broccoli is a member of the brassica family that has been bred to make a giant succulent flower head. It is that flower head that we eat. The teeny little green beads that make up a head of broccoli are called florets. Each one of those florets wants to develop into a pretty yellow flower and make seed. If broccoli is given enough time, it will grow a big afro of yellow flowers.
My kinda bouquet.
You want to have eaten all those florets long before that happens because when a broccoli plant (or any plant, actually) goes into it’s flowering and seed making stage, certain changes happen to the plant that cause it to toughen up and get serious about survival. Leaves get bitter, stalks get tough and woody and the broccoli spends a lot of money on onsies and diapers as it prepares itself for plant parenthood.
Not Too Old, Not Too Small, But Just Right
So, how do you harvest a head of broccoli when it is full-size but before it goes too far?
First, look at size. Different varieties have different natural mature sizes, and like everything in gardening there is a lot of potential variability based on growing conditions. In my garden, I’m happy with a main head of broccoli that is 6 to 7 inches across. That’s a very respectable head of broccoli.
All else being equal, broccoli and cauliflower will make heads in accordance to their leaf growth before they start heading. In other words, big broccoli plants with big healthy leaves will make big broccoli heads and stunted little broccoli plants will make stunted little broccoli heads. Broccoli plants that are bred for bigger frames will tend to make larger heads than “compact spacing” type varieties.
These are nice big, healthy broccoli plants so I expect larger heads from them.
This is why you must never, ever, EVER buy a broccoli or cauliflower transplant that has already started to form a head. You might think, “ahh, that’s so cute! An inch-wide cauliflower plant. I’ll get that one, it’s got a great headstart, so to speak.”
DO NOT DO THAT!
That broccoli or cauliflower is, for all intents and purposes, done. It has already initiated it’s heading up as, essentially, an infant. It will not get bigger. If you buy that transplant you are paying probably $80 a pound for button-sized broccoli. You are wasting your money.
Full size, healthy broccoli and cauliflower plants will start by making a small head but that head will get bigger. Many a new gardener, myself included, has panicked when they see their first teeny little cauliflower or broccoli head and thought, “Oh no! What did I do? I ruined it! It’s teeny.”
Only just beginning…give this one time
Web searches will say things like, “broccoli and cauliflower will button (produce small unusable heads) when under stress,” adding to the feeling of panic and garden failure. So, the typical new gardener reaction is to cut off the teeny baby broccoli head in an attempt to “salvage something…anything!” from their plant.
Tragedy. That’s basically broccoli head infanticide. The right response is…patience. Those little broccoli heads start little but they will get bigger…up to supermarket size or larger, if they are happy and growing well. So just watch and wait.
Part of a full-size head (upper left) compared to a baby broccoli head (lower right)
Look At The Florets
There will be a point, a several day (or even several week, depending on the variety) window, when the broccoli or cauliflower crown hits full size and stops growing but starts to loosen up. The individual florets will get fatter and then will spread apart slightly and take on a less tightly packed quality.
Loose but not yet yellowing – pick now!
This is the ideal time to harvest. This is slightly later than what you will see for store bought broccoli, but since your broccoli isn’t going to be on a truck for a week you can maximize size a bit more than the commercial growers can without sacrificing quality.
At this point the head is as big as it’s going to be and still tastes great and is juicy and tender. Let it go a bit longer, maybe 2-3 more days – possibly a week if you have a broccoli with good field holding ability – and the florets will start to get a distinct, loose, spread out look. Those green beads will start to look like fat little flower buds, because this is exactly what they are. They will seem to elongate, moving to a more oblong shape.
Watch for spreading out florets and signs of yellowing.
At this point the broccoli is still good eating quality but is moving rapidly towards flowering and the further along it gets the tougher and more mealy it will be. The florets will get progressively looser, and may start to take on a yellow-tinged look in places. I never like my broccoli to get to this point, it’s just too far.
One day a few of the flower buds will open into a cruciferous yellow flower. Last call, dude. If you have not yet done so, for God’s sake, harvest your broccoli now. It won’t be the most delectable crudite on the tray but it will still probably be alright compared to a two-week-old grocery store specimen.
Once your broccoli head starts actively flowering, you can still eat it – it’s not poisonous or anything – it just won’t taste the same as it would have a few weeks prior. If you do opt to harvest broccoli in flower, consider cooking it like you might flowering kale or mustard greens because it will be stronger than younger broccoli would be.
After The Harvest
If you were a commercial market grower, after you cut the head off all your broccoli plants (at more or less the same time because labor is expensive) you would rip up everything and replant. As a backyard grower, you shouldn’t do that.
Cut the broccoli head off, and cut it fairly low. Give yourself 6 or 8 inches of stalk to go with the head. (Hey, I’m still talking broccoli, don’t be a pervert.) Then, let the broccoli continue to grow and it will form side-shoots. Certain varieties, like Umpqua and Belstar, are more prone to continued side shoot production and those varieties are good for gardeners.
If harvested when still tender, the stalk can be peeled and used in slaws or sauteed. It’s fantastic.
These side-shoots are the plants attempt to make seed. Many varieties will work really hard to fulfill their quest to become parents by sending out dozens of side-shoots. They aren’t nearly as big as the central broccoli head – more broccolini sized – but you can get a good handful of them off a few plants if conditions are good. Harvest side-shoots the same way you harvest the central head but note that they will run to flowering faster.
A side-shoot growing after the main head has been harvested.
Eventually, even the most tenacious broccoli plant will give up and stop putting out usable-sized side shoots. This is when you harvest the leaves. Broccoli leaves are practically indistinguishable from collards or the scotch-type kales in most cooked-greens recipes. You can substitute to your heart’s content.
If you have a lush garden and you aren’t interested in eating broccoli leaves because you are too busy stuffing yourself with cherry tomatoes and figs, I recommend ripping up the plant and making a chicken pinata with it. Shake off excess dirt, tie a string around the plant where the stem meets the root system and hang the broccoli plant upside-down in your chicken run somewhere. Chickens love broccoli and will have a blast pecking at the leaves.
Are there any vegetables that you are unsure about when to harvest? I always have to double check specific herbs. Is it when they are in flower? Just before flower? But that’s what I love about gardening – there’s always something to learn.
Lovely clear instructions – thank you!
My problem with broccoli is keeping the aphids away. Once they’re on the plant, it’s pretty much impossible to get them all washed off – they cluster in the broccoli florets and tend to look just like little buds themselves. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Grace – have you tried spraying the aphids with soapy water?
Hard, definitely. Those green ones are hard to see in there. If possible, avoid aphid infestation in the first place with trap crops of nasturtiums and plantings that encourage lots of nymph ladybugs (any of the umbel herbs in flower is great). Once you notice a colony building up, soapy water (I just put a few drops of eco friendly soap and a few drops of olive or – if I have it – soybean oil in a spray bottle filled with water) can help knock them back, but they are a PITA because they are hard to spot. If the broc is still growing well, I just do the best I can with soapy water, watch out for signs of leaf or bud distortion, and let it go as long as possible. They I soak those heads in cold water with soap. That kills the aphids and they generally float out. A few changes of water and I can get the heads clean. But, yeah, far rather not have them in the first place. I get woolly aphids on my kale with some regularity no matter what I do so I feel your pain.
Great advice! Thank you!
Thanks for the tips – I’ve always done taste tests right in the garden. Always something to learn.
I always have aphid problems too… I’m planning on trying the marigold trick for the border of my beds this year… also will interplant to the extent that I can – the broc/caul leaves will most likely shade out the flowers after awhile, but the borders should still be safe territory. They’re going in this week…hopefully.
Great instructions! I know pears are another one that people have trouble with. Though the trick is easy. If you rotate the fruit horizontally and it pops off without a tug it’s ready to pick. If you leave them on the tree they get mushy and gross. After harvest put them on your counter to continue to ripen.
Another tip — always cut the main broccoli stalk at an angle. If it’s cut completely horizontally, it will trap overnight dew and cause the stalk to rot (this is especially important in areas with overnight fog or humidity). This enables you to keep your plant healthy while you’re harvesting all of those nice sideshoots for weeks and weeks to come…
Excellent add. I do that but neglected to mention it specifically. Thanks.
Love this, but I’m kind of giving up on broccoli for the aphid reason, too. I do spray them with oil/soap/water mix, but I find once they inhabit the little forest of broccoli buds, they are damn near impossible to see and remove. Once I rinsed a head over ten times, with dead aphids floating out every time, and finally just gave up and tossed it in the compost. I know it shouldn’t bother me so much, but I just can’t stomach the idea of eating aphids along with my broccoli.
Understandable. I don’t want to eat aphids either!
love this! our issue was that we didn’t know we should’ve mulched, and we had to battle flowering tiny broccolinis all summer long! ): we are now finally getting bigger than coin-sized florets.
we use neem oil on our garden and have not had any aphid issues (:
I haven’t yet used Neem, but I know some people swear by it.
This is an excellent post! Thank you!
I totally just sounded like one of the fake spam comments, but really.
Thank you sooooo much, this is on my list for next year, 2nd round. Deck was too hot, moved one the garden, bugs ate it. Left one on the deck, desimated over night by some nasty moth caterpillars. Caterpillars showed up AFTER my landlord sprayed all my wasps! They were HELPING keep the millers and moths at bay! They were also very friendly and polite, says my son formerly terrified of wasps/hornets/ and general stingy time bugs. So moral of the story, stay calm and quiet around your waspys and they actually help your garden!
Lori, I had a bald faced hornets nest in the yard last year. With two small kids it made me nervous, but they did a great job of keeping the caterpillars down.
You wrote this because of me didn’t you? I can see how it went…..After reading my panic filled email earlier this year you thought ” Dang, that chicks, panic and murder of premature broccoli would make a kick ass blog subject” Well it did, you where right, again! LOL!
Not just you. :) Other people have done the same thing. But, yeah, you were a little inspirational. :)
I was good on the harvesting thing, but mine ran to flowers really quickly. Managed to get the hang of that and harvested a bunch of little ones. I didnt know you could eat the leaves, so I’ll get right on that!
We grew cauliflower from seed this year, lovely big, healthy plants with no heads whatsoever, no idea what we did wrong, but very frustrating.
Nice heads! There is nothing, nothing like the taste of homegrown. People rave about tomatoes, but for me broccoli beats it all.
I’m new to your website but enjoyed your help with broccoli. I didn’t know about eating the leaves either. Also, our wellness group has a website, From Earth to Health. This morning the following post was listed that may be of interest to those with “bug issues”…enjoy and THANKS AGAIN~
Erin Lahey posted in From Earth to Health
Erin Lahey 8:30am Sep 18
Looks like the hatchery inadvertently gave us two roosters. We’d ordered all hens. Anyone want a rooster? No cost. I’d be happy to trade for hens, also, if you have them, but only if they are a year old or less.
Also, we have extra ducks. We have three males and two females. I want to get down to three ducks total, so will part with either two hens or two drakes. $10 if you take the two hens, $0 if you take two drakes. We bought the ducks for pest control in the garden and orchard. They’re better than chickens for that because they eat a wider variety of pests, including slugs, which chickens won’t touch. They are Khaki Campbells, which, if you are looking for laying hens, are the most prolific of ducks, and they lay more than nearly all breeds of chickens. The eggs are larger than chicken eggs with a slightly firmer texture. They are praised for their baking qualities, as the extra protein in them gives the baked goods extra loft.
I’d like to know more about when to harvest onions. I read articles about leaves browning and falling over, but then mine never do. They grow into a huge, thick onion ‘sword’, while the onion at the base is still happily growing larger. Is this a varietal issue, a northwest/climate issue, my fault somehow, etc? At some point, the onion seems to suddenly liquify, and I know I’ve waited too long. I’m also not 100% sure if I’m planting my different varieties right, at the right times. Or too shallow, or too deep. :)
What I do know is that if I don’t pick them at all, they seem to die off but many come back in the spring. Which confuses me even more, because the ‘planting’ time is different when nature does it for you. Really, I don’t know much at all.
Thanks for the this article so helpful! What type variety of broccoli seed do you use, Erica?
I’ve totally left mine too long before harvest, and those kind of flowery ones are great for freezing and later use in casseroles or soups. The freeze/thaw cycle seems to help with a bit of the woodiness. Or that’s what I tell myself, anyway…
Thanks for the straight up information. Just harvested some broccoli and cauliflower for the first time. Saw some flowering heads on the broccoli and didn’t know what that meant. After reading your blog, I ended up tossing it in the compost pile, but had others to harvest. This is my second season of growing the garden, and trying out different crops, which seem to be doing better than last year. Having trouble with worms in the cucumbers, but it looks like everything else is doing great. Moto: keep an eye on the garden, because if you don’t , the bugs will ;-)