Only 12 ounces of broccoli from 3-4 plants this morning.Last year I got just over 3 pounds of broccoli from the garden. This year I put in more plants, hoping to grow enough to freeze for later consumption. What I've cut has been delicious, but certainly not more than we could eat fresh the day it was harvested. The heads never get very large, maybe 4-5" across if I'm lucky. There are quite a few side shoots, but most are so small as to be rather insignificant to the harvest. I'm wondering if the space it takes to grow makes it a worthwhile crop for my home garden. I would guess I have over 30 square feet dedicated to broccoli growing, including a plant here and there in the flower bed. If I had planted potatoes in that 30 square feet, you can be assured it would provide much, much more than 3 pounds! In fact, judging by past yields, I would harvest more than 60 pounds of potatoes from that square footage......even taking into consideration that I "steal" many new potatoes rather than let them mature.
Oh, Mr. Granny really doesn't like broccoli, but we both love our potatoes. Especially freshly dug from the garden! I didn't have room to plant them this year, because I used the bed for........broccoli.
Sounds like next year will be another potato year....
ReplyDeleteNartaya, sounds good to me. I wish I had a spot to plant some right now!
ReplyDeleteI think next year should be a potato year. My broccoli didn't do so well this year. Still waiting for my cabbage.
ReplyDelete~~Lori
Lori, at least the cabbage gives me a few pounds to harvest! It looks like it's going to be a good cabbage year for me, if only the slugs don't get it all.
ReplyDeleteThey say misery loves company! I guess it's true because I was feeling left out with my "measly" crop of Garlic after all the effort..I'll still have to buy a prepared jar at Sams Club to get me through the year :o(
ReplyDeleteI think I might plant some potatoes next year, too, and will be looking forward to what you have to say on the subject. I bought some last Saturday at the local Farmer's Market, and they are soooo much better than anything from the store.
ReplyDeleteWell you live and you learn. I'm afraid my broccoli won't be coming in anytime soon. Oddly it didn't grow bigger until about 2-3 weeks after transplanting.
ReplyDeleteGinny, I'm not actually miserable, but I think the space could have been put to better use.
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Dianefaith, I got 31 1/2 pounds from a 4'x4' bed last year, and 36 pounds from a 4'x3' bed the year before. Like I said, I dig under the plants and steal baby new potatoes as soon as the blossoms begin showing, or the yield would be greater. I talked myself out of planting them this year, as I can get really good freshly dug ones at the farm stand up the road. Nothing like bringing them in straight from the garden though.
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Vanessa, I think I could get as much broccoli by planting it in with the flowers. That would give me an entire 4'x8' bed for potatoes next year.
Now you know why the Irish are known for potatoes and not broccoli! Like your garden, their island is not all that big either.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your broccoli problems too. I agree it doesn't seem to be worth the trouble for the yields. At least you didn't have the problems I did. :)
ReplyDeleteRemember this:
http://georgiahomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-garden-broccoli-blues.html
I think this is one of the most interesting parts of gardening -- the mental juggling. What did/do I like, what does well, etc.
ReplyDeleteI've not gotten a big potato harvest yet, so I'd lean towards kale, which is our #1 favorite, but it's different for everyone.
Broccoli never seems to get big enough for me either! I love broccoli though so it will always have a spot in the garden. You should try the broccoli salad my Mom makes, it is really good:
ReplyDeletehttp://canadianbakertoo.blogspot.com/2010/12/broccoli-and-cauliflower-salad.html
Ha-ha, Jody. That's funny!
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Oh, Kris....I don't have to look, I remember it well! YUK! Knock on wood, but I've been lucky enough to not have a worm in any of my broccoli or cabbages in the past few years. I used to get a few little green worms in the broccoli, but a soak in salt water brought them right out, and there were never very many of them. I did have one float to the top while cooking, once. I just fished him out and didn't tell anyone :-)
You just watch my big cabbages get wormy, just because I bragged.
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Stefaneener, My rabbit eats all the kale, so I've never even tasted it! At least he doesn't eat our potatoes ;-)
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Dan, I love broccoli, too. Mr. Granny isn't fond of it, but I make him eat it anyway. I was looking around, and I have a lot of room on the east side of the house, where there's a narrow overgrown flower bed. It could easily be a broccoli bed! It gets morning sun, and afternoon shade, it just might work. Maybe I'll try some fall broccoli there.
Well, Dan, even Mr. Granny couldn't resist that salad. A sweet & sour dressing and lots of bacon, what's not to like! I just asked him tonight if he was getting tired of that big lettuce salad with the hot bacon dressing that we have every night, and he said no. I asked if he thought he would tire of it any time soon, he said no. That means I can still keep bringing in the lettuce!
ReplyDeleteI have never tried growing broccoli before. My family LOVES it (kids included) so maybe I'll have to give it a try. I just heard it was really hard to grow. I've also not had luck with potatoes, but it's been a long time since I tried. I bet they would do much better in my raised beds with the good, loose, compost soil then in the ground.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you may have already made up your mind on planting potatoes vs. broccoli next year.
That does seem like small ROI for the effort... Having never grown broccoli, I couldn't say, but then again I'm a veggie newbie. Can't wait to see what the brussel sprouts do.
ReplyDeleteBroccoli is one of those crops that just doesn't produce much for the space. It certainly never has for me. But I LOVE broccoli. I probably gave it just over 20sqft. And I may well do that again next year. But then I saved room for the potatoes too. Now they got 30sqft. So for me about 20sqft and I'm guessing they will produce about four pounds in half a year. So no where near the pound per square foot I tried to get from my last garden. And certainly no where near the current production of this garden.
ReplyDeleteBroccoli is even worse in pots! I still plant it every year in the balcony garden because it tastes so much better than the stuff I buy elsewhere. Then again I love broccoli. Maybe spot plant one or two and leave the rest of the space for your potatoes. Either way good luck with getting a better yield.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya Granny! Mine have not done squat this year. I've got a half dozen plants in the garden now and they're not even heading yet. It's so bad that the seedlings I have started upstairs a month ago are still up there. I don't have the heart to put them out. I too wanted to grow enough to freeze this year.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Granny not liking broccoli, I converted my broccoli hating wife to like our home grown stuff. It can happen!
Langela, I haven't found it hard to grow, it's just that the plant gets so big and takes up so much room, then sometimes you get a nice head of broccoli but sometimes it's just a little one. Even though all the seeds come from the same pkt., and have been planted at the same time! Maybe it's the variety, as I can remember having nice broccoli heads in other years.
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David, I only grew Brussels sprouts once, and they were completely infested with aphids and inedible. I never grew them again after that! Mr. Granny is such a wuss about eating anything his mother didn't cook when he was growing up, and she didn't do broccoli or Brussels sprouts! The only ones (B. sprouts) I have eaten were from the freezer at the grocery store, boiled until they were gray-green and mushy, then drowned in butter. I'd love to try some fresh from the garden, tossed with a bit of olive oil and roasted in the oven. I'd probably become a fan of Brussels sprouts ;-)
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Daphne, I've made up my mind. I can find room in the flowers for a few broccoli plants next year. Maybe even this fall. And I need to find a different variety, for larger heads and not so many tiny side sprouts. Can you tell I'm a bit sorry I tore out my raised bed boxes? Does it show?
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Prue, that's exactly what I'm going to do. When I get around to blogging today, you'll see that I did plant a couple in with the flowers. There's also a stray plant between the lettuce bed and the compost bin. I'll just put them in odd places next year, rather than devote an entire bed to them.
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Sinfonian, nobody converts Mr. Granny ;-)
ReplyDeleteActually, I make him eat his broccoli, like it or not. He knows better than to cross Granny. Except when it comes to butternut squash (instead of pumpkin) pie. I lost that one!
I have good and bad broccoli years - the jury is out on this year yet as they are just forming central heads. I could not do without them though as I love that veggie too much. I just started my fall crop of broccoli plants under the lights in the house. Have to have that second crop in the fall!
ReplyDeleteI solved the bed space issue by building more beds. LOL! I grow lots of potatoes AND lots of broccoli. :D
Kitsap, I'd say it's a good broccoli year, I think I need a better broccoli variety. Next year I'm going back to growing a hybrid rather than an heirloom.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could talk Mr. G into moving the garden fence out a few feet ;-)
Sorry for your broccoli woes. I harvested my first head yesterday and it was so very tiny.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I harvested two more heads and a few side shoots today, but it only came to 8 oz. I think I'll be pulling the plants soon, rather than leave them in for the small harvest of side shoots. I can always use the room for more carrots and beets.
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