This is my first attempt at growing either vegetable. How do you know when they're done?

I'm going to assume that I've waited too long on some of the broccoli. It's starting to flower. It's kind of sad too, because I've babied them all summer, have fought tooth and nail with aphids and harlequin bugs over the past month, and have never had to wait this long or work this hard for a crop.

As for the right time to harvest...how do you know?

I usually don't grow either until late Winter when I can find transplants at the local feed and seed. Broccoli is ready to pick when the flower head forms, but before the florets begin to open (before you can see yellow). Brussels sprouts are ready to pick when they are about golf ball or a little larger size. Try planting again in about late Feb if you don't have much success this time around.

I started mine from seed I think back in April.

Where do get your transplants? There at Dillards on the square in Weatherford? There's a seed place called Wilhite's in Poolville too, but I don't know if they have transplants or not.

Dillards is where I get most of my transplants and garden amendments. I love Willhite Seed, but they only sell seeds. The nice thing about Willhites is that you can buy seeds in bulk or in small amounts, and their prices are very good. They also have a wide range of seeds considering the size of the company.

I grew Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts with great success this year. They had transplants at home depot. I planted two different varieties of broccoli, each of which did great.

I followed some advise I read in a book with the brussel sprouts cutting off the bottom most leaves as the plants grew. Then when they got tall and the first frost was approaching, pinch off the growing tip. The brussel sprouts really did get bigger at that point.

The broccoli, stuff I have read says start cutting them as soon as they get golf ball size to start eating and then keep harvesting. After they start flowering it is really too late for nice tender broccoli.

This was my first time at planting either one of these vegetables. It was exciting to walk out to the garden and find HUGE heads of broccoli all over the place. We had to blanch/freeze some of it there was so much. I didn't even think it would grow here but IT DOES!