Broccoli bolts

I'm surprised that you can still find Green Comet, RidgeRunner. I first grew that about 1980.

Here, they can't run far into July and that was a problem some years with Premium Crop. I'd have to really think about how to have a fall crop. Nearly every September is dry after a hot and dry August. A little rain shows up and a couple days later, frost. Broccoli seems to be okay with our cool spring weather.

Packman has been dropped by several of the catalog outfits. There are other of these early varieties and I intend to be giving them a try but, I may have to stick with bok choy for the fall.

Steve
 
My problem here is that I need to start a lot of things for a fall crop in the garden in August when it is hot and dry. Not exactly ideal for a cool weather crop. Lots of watering and some shade helps but for things that I start from seed, like carrots, it is a real challenge not just getting germination but keeping them alive. With all that watering the top of the soil forms a hard crust and if you miss a day of watering you get casualties. I mulch as much as I can, but with seeds like carrots the plants need to get to a certain size before I can mulch enough to make a differenced. By then, the carrots are thick enough to mulch themselves if I got good germination and kept them alive.
 
I was thinking I would start them indoors like starting the tomatoes in March!
 
@Ridgerunner, are you going to start the seeds indoors or out? I have some Pacman seed that I started for spring and they were so stunted by the time I got a place prepared, I just didn't plant them. Maybe I will put some seeds in the ground where I pulled the spinach out. It's a little shady there.
 
I'll start them inside in my workshop, not the house. it should be plenty warm for germination but out of the killer sun and dry wind. You're probably not to far from my climate. Janet at the garden store said they start theirs the first of July so I'll try that, hoping to transplant late August, maybe real early September, then just see when winter hits.
 
The broccoli are usually smaller than the grocery store heads. You let them go too long. As soon as they look like they are good enough to eat-they are. More nutrients will make bigger heads- they are heavy feeders and love compost. Most broccoli will sent out florets after the big head is cut.
 
Hal hit the nail on the head..some variety's are simply far better than others, and as he say's, the younger the better..

I had one variety that I sure wish I had made note of, as it grew beautiful big full heads in July. Even after cutting, it continued to produce abundant side shoots, that lasted well into August. They were just tiny when I put them in the ground.
Other variety's, some I have started from seed, never did near as well production wise. Seedlings I bought from a nursery for this years crop, are looking exactly like Carol's. I'm hoping they will be good side shoot producers at least.
 
catjac1975 said:
The broccoli are usually smaller than the grocery store heads. You let them go too long. As soon as they look like they are good enough to eat-they are. More nutrients will make bigger heads- they are heavy feeders and love compost. Most broccoli will sent out florets after the big head is cut.
Click to expand...
The bed they are in is about 1/2 garden soil and 1/2 compost. They should do well.
 
Ridgerunner said:
I'll start them inside in my workshop, not the house. it should be plenty warm for germination but out of the killer sun and dry wind. You're probably not to far from my climate. Janet at the garden store said they start theirs the first of July so I'll try that, hoping to transplant late August, maybe real early September, then just see when winter hits.
Click to expand...
I better get my seed started soon then. As we are north of you and frost gets here as early as mid Oct.
 
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