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We've been having a yo-yo spring (temperature-wise) here in Central Texas and our Packman Hybrid broccoli, which is in a raised bed and kept under a plastic frame on cold days, just decided to bolt. I'm guessing that when it got warmer yesterday and we failed to remove the cover, it got a bit warm due to the greenhouse effect and decided to flower.

Bolted Broccoli

Other than cutting off the main head and hoping to get some small side offshoots, is there anything to do? Should we just tear it all out and go ahead and plant something different?

This is our first attempt at broccoli... and, honestly, our first serious attempt at vegetable growing. We'd always been concerned about the broccoli bolting so it wasn't unexpected, just want to know where to go from here.

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Yes, that crop is finished. Broccoli doesn't regrow well from an early bolt. It's still edible (if you like the buds that size), so you could still salvage some, but It'd be best to take the plants out now and plant something else. Not another brassica, though, it's good to rotate between vegetable families, to prevent possible pest/disease buildup.

This probably is the result of the warmth. Anything irregular causes it to try to set seed (kind of a self-perpetuating mechanism really). They like cool temperatures (55-60 degrees F. is optimum), lots of nitrogen, bright full sun, short days, lots of organic matter, and lots of moisture.

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    Appreciated. Now I shall go and weep for my poor baby broccoli and wish them a good night.
    – Catija ♦
    Mar 13, 2015 at 22:07
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    I've eaten brocolli that looked like that before. Tastes fine!
    – Megasaur
    Mar 14, 2015 at 8:41

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