How and When to Harvest Broccoli for the Tastiest Crop

Broccoli is a tasty, tender crop with lots of nutrients. It’s perfect for backyard gardens! You may wonder when it ripens, and when you should harvest its heads. Wonder no more, since we’ll discover when and how to harvest your growing veggies. Learn to cut your broccoli heads in this guide alongside seasoned grower Jerad Bryant.

Close-up of a gardener's hand harvesting broccoli, revealing dark blue-green leaves with prominent veins fanning out around a dense, central cluster of tightly packed green buds.

Contents

Broccoli is one of the first crops you should grow as a beginner. It ripens quickly in the growing season and is an easy introduction to the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Other crops in the family, like cauliflower and cabbage, require consistent labor and attention, while broccoli is relatively easy-going.

Although it’s a simple grower, there are still nuances about how to collect it. Broccoli, like lettuce, bolts in warm weather. If you are late to harvest, the crunchy heads will grow leggy and sparse, and they’ll open their yellow flowers. Although they’re pretty, you do not want to see broccoli flowers! They’re edible but nowhere near as delicious as the sauteed florets. 

The other key part of broccoli harvesting is the tools you use. You’ll want sharp pruners that can slice through thick stems, especially if growing a large heading variety. When you harvest it correctly, you’ll have small side shoots to eat all season long. 

So, how and when should you harvest broccoli for the tastiest crop? Let’s find out.

When To Harvest Broccoli

Close-up of female hands gently touching tight clusters of small green florets that form a dense, rounded head, surrounded by wide, blue-green leaves with wavy edges.
Transplant seedlings early for a bountiful cool-season crop.

Broccoli matures during cool, mild weather without hard frosts. It tolerates light freezes but struggles through consistent freezing temperatures. It also hates excessive heat, making it ideal for fall or winter growing in mild-climate gardening zones. You’ll want to transplant seedlings in summer, fall, or winter for a winter through early spring harvest.

YouTube video

If you live where winters stay below freezing for weeks, your broccoli will not survive the winter. It’s a better crop for chilly early spring weather when light freezes are still occurring. You’ll harvest these plants 50 to 100 days after transplanting as their shoots mature into full heads.

When to harvest broccoli depends on when you plant it, so be sure to get your transplants into the ground early in the season. Start seeds a month or two before your last frost date in cold climates, and move seedlings outdoors two to four weeks before the last frost. In warm zones, start them anytime outdoors or indoors during the cool months. 

Cut Before They Bolt

Close-up of a gardener's hands with a white knife cutting off a ripe head of broccoli among dark green, fan-like leaves.
Regularly check your plants to prevent leggy growth.

As the 50 days after transplanting approaches, take garden walkthroughs every other day or daily and look at your broccoli. Warm spring weather, excessive heat, and dry soils threaten your precious crops. They’ll turn from tightly bunched florets into sparse and leggy flowering stems. Walk near your plants, and you’ll see issues before they develop into problems.

Between 50 and 100 days after transplanting, your broccoli will be ready to harvest! Look for large heads with florets tightly packed. They should look similar to the large broccoli you buy at the grocery store. Use pruners to chop off the heads with at least five or six inches of stem. The stem helps the head last long in the fridge if you can’t eat it right away.

Some varieties form many small florets, while most traditional types grow one large central head. If you’re growing a kind with small florets, harvest them when they’re green and tight next to each other. You’ll want to catch them before they bolt and open into yellow flowers.

Continuously Harvest Side Shoots

The gardener's hand holds a thick, sturdy stem supporting a central head of compact, dark green florets that form a tight dome.
Continue picking side shoots to encourage more growth.

After you harvest the main head, broccoli plants grow smaller side shoots throughout their stem. These are just as tasty as the central ones and grow more abundantly. Don’t rip up your plants after harvest—let them grow more vegetables instead!

The key with side shoots is continuous harvesting. When you pick them, you trick the plant into thinking it’s lost its budding flowers. It’ll start to produce more in attempts to make seeds. Keep picking the flowers, and broccoli will keep growing them in a neverending cycle. The only thing that can stop it is harsh winter frost or hot summer heat. 

If your plant stops producing side shoots, it’s most likely spent! Pull up the plant and compost it, or leave it be to see what happens. It may start growing more shoots again once the weather is favorable. I like to pull up the plants once they’re done to make room for summer crops like tomatoes and squash.

Don’t Let Buds Open

The broccoli florets head is a dense, compact cluster of tightly packed dark green buds, forming a rounded dome atop a thick, sturdy stem.
Continuously harvest to keep your plants producing abundantly.

Broccoli stops producing if any of its flowers open and pollinate themselves. After pollination, this annual vegetable forms long, thin seed pods like bok choy or radishes. If the plant forms seed pods, it’ll slow down the production. It’ll think it doesn’t need more heads since it’s already growing active seeds.

Prevent premature bolting and keep your crops thriving all season by harvesting them continuously. Slice off flowers as you notice them. The flowers are edible like sprouting broccoli, and they go great in stir fries, sauteed dishes, and salads. They have a light flavor similar that lends well to fresh recipes.

After buds open, they’ll attract pollinators and start forming seeds inside long, tender pods. These immature seed pods are also edible! They’re more flavorful than the heads and work well in cooking recipes that involve heating them in a pan with oil. Once they dry, they’re too stringy to eat, so catch them while they’re young.

Bonus Step: Save Seeds!

Close-up of a spoon full of broccoli seeds, which are small, round, and dark brown to black in color, with a slightly glossy surface and a hard outer coating.
Let a few plants flower to save seeds for next year.

You may also want to grow seed pods to save seeds for next year. After you harvest dozens of heads, you can let a few flower and form seeds. The leggy stems may attract aphids during hot seasons, but they rarely affect the quality of the seeds. If you see a lot of them, use a strong stream of water to knock them off.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for seeds to form. Watch until the pods are yellow and bulging, then trim off entire stems with the pods attached. Place them in a brown paper bag indoors, and they’ll dry fully. The pods open, and the black, round seeds drop to the bottom of the bag.

Once you have the seeds, you’ll want to store them until next year’s growing season. Place them in an airtight container, then store them in a cool and dark location. Pantries, closets, or cupboards are perfect for storing seeds long-term. Use them in spring to start new plants or to grow broccoli microgreens!

You want to use a dependable, reliable, and delicious variety when growing broccoli. Select a kind that thrives with your climate, environment, and seasonal shifts. Certain types grow well in mild climates while others prefer frosty, chilly zones. These four varieties are excellent choices to start with.

‘Di Cicco’

The plant features a compact, green floret head with tightly clustered, small florets atop thick, dark green leaves that have serrated edges.
This heirloom variety offers delicious florets and nutritious leaves.

‘Di Cicco’ is a classic heirloom favorite of Italian gardeners. It sprouts three-inch wide heads and produces ample side shoots after the first harvest. Its leaves are edible, too, although they’re tough for fresh eating. Cook them down like Swiss chard and add salt for a simple and nutritious dish.

This type produces green heads that resemble ones in the grocery stores, although they’re much tastier than today’s hybrids. ‘Di Cicco’ is an old variety from 1890, and it’s still a favorite because of its superb flavor.

‘Burgundy’

The plant displays striking deep purple florets that form a dense head, surrounded by broad, dark green leaves with smooth surfaces.
This variety produces striking purple florets for your garden.

Different from most other broccolis, ‘Burgundy’ sprouts purple heads that stand out in the vegetable garden. It’s incredibly ornamental, meaning you can grow it with your perennials and shrubs if you’d like! 

This hybrid type differs from heading broccoli because it’s a sprouting type. It’ll grow many decent-sized side shoots instead of a giant head. Sprouting types work well for consistent harvests, and ‘Burgundy’ works exceptionally well since it tolerates warm temperatures.  

‘Belstar’

The plant has a medium-sized, tight green floret head with vibrant green leaves that are slightly crinkled, providing a lush backdrop.
This variety thrives in heat and produces large harvests.

‘Belstar’ excels where other broccolis fail. It’s a heat-tolerant variety that performs from late summer through spring. This hybrid type grows a head larger than the previous two varieties, reaching six to eight inches in diameter! If you love large broccoli dishes, this is the kind for you.

Although ‘Belstar’ sprouts a giant head, it also grows side shoots. Once you cut off the main head, smaller side heads sprout off the stem below the cut. Harvest them before the flowers open, and your plant will keep producing more side shoots until a hard frost. 

‘Blue Wind’

The plant showcases a vibrant green, dome-shaped floret head with tightly packed small florets and dark blue-green leaves that have a waxy texture.
This quick-growing variety boasts vibrant blue-green heads.

‘Blue Wind’ is a quick-growing variety perfect for growers with short spring seasons. It matures in an average of 60 days, giving you tasty heads two months after transplanting them. It receives its name from the blue-green color of the heads. Put ‘Burgundy’ and ‘Blue Wind’ together in your garden for a colorful, showy crop.

Because it’s quick, this variety works well during fall or winter in mild climate zones and in early spring in cold ones. Plant seedlings outdoors a week or two before your last frost date for best results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you harvest broccoli more than once?

Yes, you can! After harvesting the main head, your plants will continue sprouting side shoots with small heads. Cut these shoots continuously throughout the growing season for tasty broccoli.

When is the ideal harvest time for broccoli?

Harvesting timeframes depend on when you transplanted your seedlings. Fall through winter transplants are ready to harvest in late winter or spring, while spring plantings are ready before midsummer.

Can you harvest broccoli after it flowers?

Yes! The yellow flowers are tasty and dainty, making them perfect additions to salads, soups, and stews. They add color to any recipe, and they taste like mild broccoli. Some may have stringy stems—saute, steam, or boil them first to soften them up.

Share This Post
One of many vegetables sun and shade, appearing dense and healthy with vivid green leaves growing in dark brown soil

Vegetables

15 Vegetables that Grow in Sun and Shade

Just because you have a shady yard, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow vegetables. Some crops are very adaptable to different sunlight conditions. Join former vegetable farmer Briana Yablonski to learn about veggies that can grow well in sun and shade.

A garden with Fall beet varieties, with bulbous crops having red stems, covered in soil colored dark brown

Vegetables

11 Beet Varieties You Can Plant In Fall

Root vegetables are a culinary signature of autumn, and beets, in red, gold, and white, add variety to the mix. Earthy and sweet, beets feature flavorful roots and leafy tops rich in nutrition. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in a look at beet varieties perfect for fall planting.

A close-up of vibrant green cabbages flourishing in nutrient-rich soil within wooden raised beds.

Vegetables

5 Tips For Growing Cabbage in Raised Beds

Cabbage is a very rewarding crop to grow. There’s nothing quite like twisting a giant head of cabbage right out of the soil. However, it can be challenging to grow if you don’t have the right conditions. This makes it an excellent candidate for a raised bed. In a raised bed, you can easily control the growing conditions. Gardening expert Kelli Klein shares 5 tips for growing cabbage in raised beds.

Assorted leafy greens arranged neatly, illuminated by the sun's warm rays, creating a vibrant display of colors and textures in a garden.

Vegetables

9 Vegetable Garden Mistakes to Avoid This Year

It’s veggie season, and you’re ready to start gardening. But are you? It’s easy to get so excited about our gardens that we forget the basics. We’re here for you! Join organic farmer Jenna Rich as she discusses 9 basic vegetable mistakes you can avoid this year by following a checklist, properly preparing, and knowing your limits.