BROCCOLI QUESTIONS

I am in my first year of growing veggies in the garden and have had a fairly sucessfull year, I think I am now hooked for life.
My question is about the broccoli I am growing. I planted it from seeds in march and planted out in final position in April and it has grown really well. There are no signs though of any heads of broccoli growing at all. I have read other threads but have failed to understand what the problem is.
I forget the variety now but they were large green headed calabrese type I seem to remember.

In some threads I have read it suggests that broccoli is a bi-annual and that it flowers/heads up in early spring so that the plants I now have will overwinter and provide heads next spring. Is this correct?...On searching the web for info there is nothing mentioned about how long it takes to be ready for picking other than suggesting about 12 weeks?... mine has gone way past that time now.

I have had it protected under netting since planting and it had kept most butterflies out but on return from holidays it was heavily infested with caterpillars that I have now picked off, whilst some leaves are stripped bare, many are ok and the plants still look very healthy but I am still picking the odd few caterpillars off each day.
I want my broccoli....when will I get to eat it?..
I did grow 6 cabbages and 6 Cauli's very successfully so I am not sure why broccoli should give so much trouble?.

 

I think the heads come next spring. This is my first year too, but that is my understanding.

 

Sounds like you are growing a calabrese variety if it has large green heads. Normally calabrese is cropped in early winter.
Purple sprouting broccoli is grown as a spring harvesting crop. (Though for some strange reason mine which was sown on 12th April is cropping now. Rather annoying!)

 

Is it supposed to look like this.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.allotment.org.uk/greenhouse/seeds/assets/sections/12.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allotment.org.uk/greenhouse/seeds/calabrese.php&h= 200&w=200&sz=4&hl=en&start=20&um=1&tbnid=X7XMeh9pQtrNfM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcalabrese%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cr%3DcountryUK%257CcountryGB%26safe%3Doff% 26sa%3DN

OR this
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/photos/photos/broccoli.jpg

 

the first one - big green heads I hope to get...
so far I have large plants, lots of side shoots - no heads :-(

 

So it should come soon then.

 

fretdancer, if it`s calabrese it should harvest late Autumn / early Winter. David.