Im in south Florida and growing broccoli. I was expecting them to look more compact but they seem to by growing up. Is this possibly due to not getting enough sunlight? This area does get brief direct light but is shaded for parts of the day. Any tips?
by Testtubekid
15 Comments
Broccoli like it cooler so chances are it’s too hot and it bolted
Oh that do be bolted lol you’ll definitely need some sort of shade for it to grow a successful crown. I’m in 5b and I need to shade mine too! I found mounding around the base and adding mulch helped keep the soil in the roots cool as well.
It’s bolted lol
It is done, no more broccoli from that plant.
It’s making babies for you.
As others have said, it’s too hot for broccoli where you are and it’s bolted. Good news is you can let it keep going and harvest the seed for the fall (or maybe winter for you).
Grab that little one, it’s about to do the same.
In your area, for the best chance at broccoli, you’ll need to plant it around October or so. Those look lots younger. I’m not as tropical as you, and my broccoli got pulled a few weeks ago.
I’m in the south central Texas area so cooler than you are during the winter. we set out our broccoli plants in October so they are fruiting during the coolest time if the year. When it gets too warm it is going to bolt and go to seed quickly. I have harvested all my heads and shoots usually by mid January. It can be a challenge avoiding too cold temps. This year we dropped to 14 degrees in January and that froze my unharvested plants.
It’s bolted – you can either leave it and collect seed for a fall planting, or cut it off and add it to your compost.
You won’t even get good side shoots from a broccoli that’s bolted.
I’m in Southern Texas and we plant broccoli in the fall. By the Spring time it starts getting warm and it bolts(flowers) Let it be for the bees, you won’t get good produce once it goes to flower. Yes the heads do stay tight but when they start loosening up it’s usually because The weather is too warm, And the plant goes to flower. Next time planted in the fall
It’s done being a broccoli.
It’s too hot. It’s bolting.
Get that baby some air conditioning!
Others have already told you that it’s bolting, but when this happened to be two years ago, I decided the next year (last year) to plant broccoli in various places in my backyard garden. I found places it could and couldn’t live.
In South Florida, though, you honestly just might not be able to grow broccoli. It really doesn’t like heat and I suspect that it’s hotter than it likes even in the shade where you live.
You can grow peppers like nobody’s business though!
That’s the Broccoli equivalent of Old & Bitter.
Check out [https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar](https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar)
To see when your best planting dates are. I’m 2 zones above you, and I’m at the tail end of Broccoli season.