I'd say it depends on the spacing you used for your broccoli plants. They get VERY big.

{{gwi:32839}}

Hi FrankTank,
I just went out and took these pics for you ;-)
I put in Garlics,Onions and Swiss Chard

{{gwi:32845}}

{{gwi:32846}}

{{gwi:32848}}

{{gwi:15886}}

I plant fast-growing things that will be ready before the broccoli shades everything out.
Lettuce, Asian greens, radishes.
I'm a big fan of avoiding monocultures where possible.

Lettuce could be a quicker crop you could pull out before the Broccoli heads up. Radish is another quick crop, but has many of the same pest problems with Cole crops like Broccoli.

If you plan to pull out the Broccoli after first heads, maybe you could plant some Carrots to mature afterwards.

If you have a lot of space, you could try a row of Onions.

Jon-

Nice garden. I just watched "Home Alone" today with my son.
You really got them packed in there. Wish i had rasied beds like that..

I have them spaced pretty tight. I ended up put a line of carrot seed right between them. I'd like to take them out as soon as they head up so then I can move on to melons for summer. We'll see if that works or not.

I know brother, that is always the big balancing act, trying to get the most "bang for the buck", I hate to pull them too soon, but I want to get my summer crop in as soon as possible too... AARRRGGGHHHHHH ;-)
and if that isn't bad enough, then figuring out the best time to pull the summer crop, to get the Fall garden cooking before winter sets in.... it is fun to be a juggler ;-)

{{gwi:15885}}

Posted by franktank232 . . . I'd like to take them out as soon as they head up so then I can move on to melons for summer. We'll see if that works or not.

That may well work for you but summer squash is a little more sure-fire.

I set out started squash plants between the broccoli about the 1st of July. An early variety of broccoli will be coming out about then. Soon, there is plenty of sun for the zucchini or whatever.

So, something around them in the early season. Then both the broccoli and their companions out in early summer. After which summer squash takes over.

Mildew often slows the spring planting of zucchini here by late August but that 2nd planting is just getting started about then.

Steve

Until this year, I had never thought about succession planting nor interplanting. I have only about 16,000 sq. ft. of space, but I am hoping to effectively turn that into an acre or more. Plant lettuce between tomatoes, grow a row of peas that will become a row of beans/cucumbers then peas again, replace broccoli with squash/zucchini and then back to broccoli. Plus, not use more room between rows than I need. No reason to have three feet between a row of onions and carrots. Eighteen inches will give enough room to pull a little red wagon between them to stick the harvest in!

Mike

Digit said "Mildew often slows the spring planting of zucchini here by late August but that 2nd planting is just getting started about then."

Steve,
Can you explain that....more in depth...
I think I got lost somewhere between "I set out started squash plants between the broccoli about the 1st of July."

and "slows the spring planting of zucchini"

I grow all my summer squash from May till Oct/Nov and by Oct I am fighting back powdery Mildew like a mother ;-)

Are you saying you have two seasons of Squash growing at the same time and that the second season doesn't get "swept up" in the PM Blizzard ???

Yes, that is about what I'm saying, Jon.

There's no question that in a bad mildew year, the later plantings also show symptoms by late in the season. But, those plants have a better lease on life than the oldest plants. They have some nice fruit before cool weather begins to draw the season to a close.

Steve

Wordwiz- Did you say only 16,000 square feet? LUCKY! I only have 130 square feet. But I am content. It must be a lot of work though.

I like putting arugula, mustard and radishes in with the broccoli when it is young because the flea beetles go for those greens rather than the baby broccoli plants. I don't eat the mustard or arugula, I don't like the taste, but once the broccoli is bigger I tear out the ragged plants and compost them. This is what they call a trap crop right?

I tried this last year, and it seemed like before I knew it the in-between plants were under the broccoli's foliage and growing very slowly. Anyway, they'll all compete for root room, which probably inhibited the broccoli's growth as well.

JohnHughes, those are great pics. You have a beautiful garden!

Wordwiz, your garden is 3 x the size of my entire property. You are lucky!

Can I ask a dumb brocolli question? It's my first year growing it. Is the plant done once it forms a brocolli head or will it form another one? Will it survive a hot summer? Or do I just pull the entire plant when the brocolli matures?

Ania

For Ania - cut the center head of the broccoli when it is ready to be harvested (before the green buds start maturing into flowers). I usually cut it on a diagonal and fairly close to the green head. Then if you leave the plant, it will likely get smaller heads growing on the side of the main stalk - they are called "side shoots". I grew packman broccoli last fall and harvested several rounds of sideshoots before the plants gave up. I cut on a diagonal to encourage rainfall to run off the plant rather than down the center of the stem (sometimes the stalk has a hollow area). That seemed to keep the plants alive longer for me.

Cindy

I leave broccoli going all year, cutting side shoots. The plants get huge and pick up production again in the fall if a hot summer slows them down.

Jon, I do the same thing with my zucchini. I plant my first "crop" (for me, that's 2 plants!) in May. I plant a succession somewhere else in the garden in July. By the time my 2nd plants are just starting to produce, I pull my early ones. I do it for the same reason Steve mentioned: Once they get old, the aphids have taken over and the mildew starts to set in. I've found it's easiest to just pull the plant than try to get everything I can out of it. Plus, that's leaving me room to put something else in for Fall. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Loribee,
Thank You ;-)
I am going to try that....
I'm just trying to figure out where I am going to plant the July Crop ( I need about 25 plants) , Can I plant them right next to the others, and just the youthfulness vigor will keep them from getting zapped, or do I really have to find some other place to plant 25 or thirty Summer Squash (no wonder I never tried this) I never have ANY unused space. OY VEY ;-)

{{gwi:32852}}

{{gwi:9384}}

Jon,

Your garden is so beautiful and you post so many pictures I sometimes think you are just showing off . If I could show off like that I would too.

Seriously, though, your comments and pictures are a big help, so keep them up. Just don't expect all of my hobby-jealousy to remain at bay.

Andrew (who still has ice on the sidewalks and some really cold overnights ahead)

I grew broccoli for the first time this year and loved it.
Although it took up quite a bit of room, the continuous production of side shoots, made it worth it.

I have attached a picture here, of my broccoli plant AFTER the harvest of the head, with side shoots growing so that
Ania could see it.
Reading about it is one thing, but a picture is worth 1000 words, as they say.

I can only dream about a garden like Jon's, and I love looking at his pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:32844}}