Harvesting Broccoli Seeds

First timer gardener and I let a couple of great broccoli go to seed. Lots of very cute little pods on them now but I was wondering if anyone could tell me how I know when it is the right time to harvest the seeds and how I should go about doing that? Thank you! :)

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  • Hi Vicki You can plant the resulting seeds in the garden, as Carol has told you, brassicas will cross pollinate with each other indiscriminately - and you can use the resulting leaves and flowers for all brassica-type purposes, young leaves in salads, as they get older you can stir fry or steam them, and if you leave them they may either heart up or produce little flower heads you can eat. I let lots of them seed and just use them for whatever purpose they look suitable for :-) All the best with your harvest.
    Incidentally, last autumn I dumped a lot of old vege plants on a big piece of ground i wanted to make into a new garden this year - and since spring I have had tomatoes, parsley, lots of brassicas, lots of cucurbits (pumpkins, squashes, courgettes, gourds, cucumbers) silver beet, coriander, and Asian greens of several sorts, all come up in what became a deep compost over the winter. Because it was such a big area it didn't get hot enough to kill the seeds and I have left them all the seedlings there (except the tomatoes which I transplanted elsewhere) and many have been our salad veges since about Christmas. The pumpkins have little fruit on them and will be some of our stored supplies for winter.
  • Hi Vicki, nice to meet you here ;-) The pods will turn brownish, and may begin to snap open by themselves. Just open one or two of them and see if the seeds are nice and brown, and round, like the seeds you sow. (or if you don't have any on hand to compare them to, cabbage and cauli are the same. ) If they are still green, they are not ready. Nice and brown and round. Will be great for sprouting ! Broccoli sprouts are very nutritious and have anti-cancer properties. Brocs cross pollinate with cabbage and caulis if there are any flowering within 1.6k, so you my have an interesting result if you plant them. Worth experimenting with tho. Cheers Carol :-)
    • Thanks for the advice Carol - they're definitely still green so I'll just keep admiring them for now. I might give sprouting them a go, it sounds delicious! How can you use the sprouts? I might try germinating a handful, just to see what comes of them - I've always wanted to try broccoflower :)
    • Hi Vicki, You can munch on the sprouts in salads and sandwiches. Also add to soups. Just let your imagination go :-)
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