I've never grown broccoli before. It seemed like a master gardners type of thing to grow but it's actually quite easy! And I've had GREAT results!
You may recall that I started them on the window sill just after Valentines day.
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I planted two seeds per four inch pot. Let them grow until they had one or two true sets of leaves then put them outside during the day for a week to get them used to the outdoor weather ( although anyone who knows me knows that the temperature inside my house was not much better than outside) then planted them in the garden about a foot apart ( I wish I'd spaced them a bit more now) and watched them grow. They can handle temperatures down to around 20 degrees. They were snowed upon several times and didn't have a problem with that. And when the flowerets got to be about the size of a match stick head you can harvest them. They say that the heads won't get as big as in the store but I've had some heads that were as big if not bigger than the ones I get in the store! :)
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After the main head produces you can harvest smaller side shoots for weeks after! When it gets hot though it will go to seed quickly and you won't be able to use it. So you'll need to start them early in the spring or plant them directly into the ground outside around the middle to end of July for a fall harvest. You can eat it fresh or you can freeze it after some processing and have it all winter long.
You can put it on baked potatoes with cheese or join it with califlower and carrots douse them in ranch and monterrey jack cheese and bake it for a delicious cheesy veggie side dish. Toss it in stir fry. Any other great broccoli dishes you know of?
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