I harvested broccolini for a Michelin star restaurant – here is when and how to pick the crop at its absolute peak

You can harvest broccolini regularly and enjoy those crunchy stems and florets for many weeks. This trendy vegetable is now commonplace on restaurant menus, but you can grow and harvest your own to avoid the inflated price tags it often comes with in stores.

Repeated harvesting is a prime reason to grow broccolini, which can also be referred to as tender stem broccoli. You get the main central head, then the joy of broccolini is those successive harvests of delicious side shoots suitable for a plethora of dishes.

Broccolini is a crop that I grew and harvested for chefs at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Using my experience growing this fantastic and productive vegetable, I look at when and how to harvest broccoli to help you pick stems at their peak texture and flavor.

Quick tips for the best harvest of broccolini

To boost your chances of a top harvest of broccolini, here are a few quick tips:

Broccolini plants require at least six hours of direct sunlight each day to produce the best-quality spears.

Also, giving 1-2 inches of water per week and regular feeding every three weeks with a balanced liquid fertilizer (like this all-purpose fertilizer at Amazon) will give great results.

Finally, like with all brassicas, broccolini is susceptible to cabbage loppers and cabbage worms.

Cover plants with fine netting to keep caterpillars off the vegetables, as they can badly affect any potential broccolini harvest, such as this insect netting at Walmart.

When to harvest broccolini

One of the key benefits of growing broccolini is that you get multiple harvests from the plants, meaning lots of delicious, nutritious spears from the vegetable garden throughout the growing season.

After you plant the vegetable after the last frost for your climate, it typically takes 2-3 months before you get the first harvest. And that is when you crop the main central head, which resembles the head you get when you grow broccoli.

Getting the timing right is important. The central head wants to be compact and unopened; leaving it too long is a vegetable harvesting mistake, as it can start to open and produce yellow flowers. Once the head begins to flower, it develops a more bitter taste.

Cutting this central head will stimulate the development of lots of side shoots, which are the delicate broccolini stems you see in restaurants or marked at a premium price in stores.

These side shoots are best harvested when they are 6-8 inches long and with tight heads. Again, ensure to pick them before they start to flower for the tastiest stems, and check the plant weekly to pick up to half a dozen stems at a time.

How to harvest broccolini

You can harvest broccolini using only simple garden tools, typically a pair of clean and sharp pruning shears or a garden knife. However, if the stem of the main central head is too wide for your pruning shears, always use a knife or loppers to avoid hacking at it.

When you harvest the central head, cut it with about six inches of stem attached and just above a set of leaves. This initial cut gives you a nutritious and versatile head to use in cooking, similar to when you harvest broccoli, and encourages the development of future shoots to pick.

The first side shoots will likely appear within a week of cutting the main head. Once the side shoots reach 6-8 inches long and have a tight head, cut them back to just above a set of green leaves with your pruning shears or harvesting knife.

These side shoots can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Broccolini stems are ideal for adding to stir-fries, salads, noodles, or pasta meals, while they can also be sautéed and served as a side dish.

FAQs

How many times can you harvest broccolini?

Regular picking will encourage the development of fresh stems and a long season of broccolini harvests. After harvesting the central head, you should expect to get five or six rounds of side shoots to pick.

Can I eat broccolini that has flowered?

Yes, you can eat broccolini once it has started flowering. All parts of broccolini are edible: the heads, stalks, leaves, and flowers. The presence of small, yellow flowers indicates that broccolini is past its best and may have a more bitter taste, though it remains safe to eat.

Shop tools to harvest broccolini

Companion planting your broccolini is an excellent way to naturally prevent pest issues and enhance your yields. There are great options for vegetables, flowers, and herbs that can keep plants healthy and productive.

This guide to what to plant with broccoli highlights some of the great picks, along with what not to plant, and the advice is also suitable for broccolini.