broccoli problem

[kymrob]

my 1st year so im not to sure but my broccoli has started to get a long thin stem (its full of little black flies) while could flower it dont look right    should i cut it?

[lincsyokel2]

Its not good brassica weather at all 

My broccoli and calabrese are bolting and flowering almost as soon as the heads are forming. The Kale and the Primo F1 cabbages are ok,  but the Pak Choi is very poorly.

Brassicas a cool northern European plants, they dont like it hot.

[rog_pete]

1st year for me too... my broc has bolted, i have cut it back and will see what happens next... the pak choi has all gone to seed, really gutted about it, lucky i had some before it decided to bolt!

i just thought it was me but sounds like its the weather thats doing the damage...

let it rain let it rain let it rain

[aquilegia]

rog_pete - you can still use pak choi when it's bolting. The flower buds are rather like sprouting broccoli too.  As long as the flowers haven't opened you can still eat the leaves, stems and buds.

[lilyjean]

Thank goodness! I thought I was doing something horribly wrong. This is my first serious year of growing crop and I get a thrill watching the veggies change in shape and form. But I was over the moon when I saw my broccoli shaping a head.....I couldn't believe it! Then without any warning 'kerpow' the head bolted. I was gutted. Similarly the rest of the broccoli are doing the same. I can't understand it, because out of all my veggies they take top priority for water. I haven't watered the others so much; trying to be sensible with the watering.... 

[lincsyokel2]

Thank goodness! I thought I was doing something horribly wrong. This is my first serious year of growing crop and I get a thrill watching the veggies change in shape and form. But I was over the moon when I saw my broccoli shaping a head.....I couldn't believe it! Then without any warning 'kerpow' the head bolted. I was gutted. Similarly the rest of the broccoli are doing the same. I can't understand it, because out of all my veggies they take top priority for water. I haven't watered the others so much; trying to be sensible with the watering.... 

its more to do with heat, most bassicas are cool weather north european plants, and like to grow at a slowly, measured, orderly rate. Give them too much heat at the wrong moment  like this summer and its like getting them hyper on crack cocaine.

[Digeroo]

I have one variety of Chinese Broccoli Kailaan which is covered with pollen beetles.  They seem to like it so much that they do not wait for the flowers to open but cover it in huge numbers, so the flowers look black. 

Since they tend to pollinate courgettes I am normally a fan of pollen bettles but in this case they make the crop unedible and they bave ended up in the compost bin.