Broccoli Pests and Disease

Harvesting and Storing Broccoli

For the best broccoli (all types), begin to harvest before the flowers open. Pick both Broccoli and Calabrese regularly to ensure the heads are at their tastiest and to encourage the formation of side-shoots.

With Calabrese, snap or cut off the heads at the top of the stalk. Broccoli should be cut off around half way down the stalk.

Both Calabrese and Broccoli freeze particularly well. Blanch the spears for about three minutes in salted water, let them cool out of the water for five minutes and freeze them. The less water on them at the time of freezing, the better.

They will store in the fridge for about a week, but they are definitely at their best when harvested and eaten on the same day.

Broccoli Pests and Diseases

The table below identifies the most common symptoms of broccoli pest and disease, simply click on the pest or disease name for more detailed information on treatment.

Disease	Symptoms
Clubroot	Stunted growth especially if infected as seedlings. Discoloured leaves which wilt. Roots are a thick distorted mass.
Downy Mildew	Light grey powdery patches on the leaves and shoots, normally appearing in spring. The mildew will get right into the plant, eventually killing it.
Aphids	These are greenfly and blackfly which will be clearly visible on the leaves and especially tender young shoots. These seriously weaken the plant.
Cabbage Root Fly	Stunted growth especially if infected as seedlings. Discoloured leaves which wilt. The roots are black and rotting.
Caterpillars	These are visible as they much their way through the leaves. The cure is simply to pick them off by hand.

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Name: Denise
E-mail: deevenn@hotmail.co.uk
Date posted: August 28, 2010 - 08:43 am
Message: I have purple sprouting brocolli plants in my vegetable garden but they are covered in caterpilars & eggs the leaves are full of holes ,should i pull out the plants which are about 2 1/2 feet hogh now or will they still be ok to leave in until next March? ,the way they are going there wont be anything left of the plant by then

Name: pokane
E-mail: pokane8@hotmail.co.uk
Date posted: August 20, 2010 - 05:42 pm
Message: My broccoli are starting to shoot they have yellow flowers