Sprouting broccoli - how do I know when it's ready?

[roseylea]

Hello,

I've not posted here before but I have a question - we have some magnificent white sprouting broccoli in out garden which is flowering (???) now - the question is how do we know when to pick it? THe top bits (please excuse complete lack of technical jargon) are tiny - do we wait fir tem to get a bit bigger?

ANy ideas?

when you say flowering doyou mean the white brocoli bits are showing or are there actual yellow flowers?? If the former then start picking and enjoy.

if it's little flowers you are too late! sprouting broccoli is mostly stalk and leaf with a little 'floret' on top, you eat quite a bit of the stalk and leaf and it is yummy. it's not like big broccoli or calebrese where you get a great big head and just eat that. It looks like you don't get much per plant but when you cut it off more grows.

thank you!

It is sprotng broc, but the stems are quite thin - in the shops you see purple sprouting broc fo sale and the stems are far thicker than ours is in the garden. Should I wait for it to get a bit thicker?

Thank you my experts!

if the florets look right then eat it now - thicker stems are not necessarily a good thing. the florets are basically flower buds, if you leave them they just burst into yellow flowers and it's all over.

I'm still cutting and eating mine - they were a lovely surprise, as I thought I'd planted brussel sprouts and had a major failure!