I’ve had some issues with broccoli in the past.
I expected them to grow fast, produce a good size head and then hold in the garden till I had time to deal with them.
I was usually disappointed.
Until now. I think I’ve found the variety for me. Eastern Magic by Johnny’s Selected seeds is early enough, productive enough and sturdy enough to make it a spring staple in the garden.
May 9 
May 23 (not sure which one) 
Plenty of side shoots for another harvest
I started 10 plants on February 15th, and fertilized them twice before transplanting them the first week of April. I covered them with a row cover, because (I think) everything grows better under a row cover. Also, we had a very cold spring and this way they were protected if things got frosty out there.
May 30th: So far I’ve harvested 5 broccoli crowns and a bunch of side shoots. Tomorrow I’ll pick the rest and pull the plants from the ground. Since broccoli are heavy feeders, I’ll work some fertilizer into the soil before the next planting.
I picked these guys on May 31:
So the grand total for the spring harvest was 8.15 pounds of broccoli. I only included the crowns and the side shoots in the weight, because those are the only parts we eat! The other parts of the plant went into the compost pile.
I have a few seeds left so I’m going to start a fall crop around mid-June.