do you continue to harvest broccoli after you harvest main head.

[plainleaf]

do you continue to harvest broccoli after you harvest main head.
I usually get lot of side shoot so i get harvest smaller florets till hard frost.
But am curious do you continue to harvest side shoot  or do you cut head then pull the plant.

[plainleaf]

[tim]

Actually, I much prefer the side stems - like Asparagus - to the fuzzy heads!

Yes - assuming you have Calabrese Broccoli, keep cutting.

[Digeroo]

Some varieties seem to produce more side shoots than others.  I grew the Broccolli Calebrese from Franchi last year and the main shoot was pathetic, but it then went on producing more and more side shoots for four solid months.  I got huge amounts of broccoli for £1.69. 

I also have a variety called Kabuki and it seems to put a great deal into the first head as does Marathon so I am not expecting much more.

There is one variety called Crown and Sceptres which is supposed to do just what you are suggesting particularly well as does Green Magic which I think originates from USA.

[shirlton]

We grew ironman and  chevalier. The later produced more side shoots that ironman but the main head on ironman was fantastic

[Jeannine]

Yes, several times XX Jeannine

[antipodes]

Think I will give up on broccoli, I never get a decent head and this year the plants have gone almost straight to seed. I only seem to be able to grow "leafy greens" like chard or sprouts or kale - does anyone have an explanation to that?

[manicscousers]

we do,
we were told by our good friend to sprinkle seaweed meal around the ground under the cauliflowers to encourage them to produce heads, it seems to have worked as we had our first ever summer caulis this year  ;D

[Digeroo]

I have great caulis and large heads on the broccoli for the first time.  I  beilieve the answer to be feed and water and large amounts of both.  Used BFB and stinging nettle tea.  The nearest I had to seaweed. ;D

Do try the Franchi stuff, no large heads but large amounts of pickings very cheap solution.  You get thousands in each packet. 

[Tee Gee]

Think I will give up on broccoli,

Try growing calabrese instead!

For summer pickings I grow calabrese for winter/spring pickings I grow broccoli

This has been a bad year for heads I put it down to that hot spell.

Just this morning I cut off 7 or 8 heads that had blown to encourage secondary florets, where I had cut off mature heads earlier in the season I am now getting loads of secondary florets!

[antipodes]

Think I will give up on broccoli,

Try growing calabrese instead!

This could be a vocabulary mistake on my part! For me, the big green heads are broccoli, but perhaps they are actually calabrese? I only know about green-headed broccoli and Purple sprouting (which I don't like much)
I got about a handful of broccoli this season, the rest just went straight to flower. I just planted some more seedlings but frankly I don't have much hope.