All the Broccoli We Can Eat

Spring and fall are transitional seasons in California agriculture, and traditionally they can be either cruel or kind.

This year, things are definitely going the consumer’s way. An extended mild spring in the desert growing areas of Arizona and the Imperial Valley have extended the life of those harvests and a nice warm March in Central California has sped the start of picking there.

The result is an overlap of vegetable-producing areas that has glutted the market and driven down prices. Asparagus has already gone over the falls; next in the barrel is broccoli.

“There has been a glut over the last couple of weeks,” says Ray Griffin of Misionero Vegetables. “Over the last weekend, that seems to be cleaning up. Now we’re able to concentrate more on the supply out of Oxnard, Santa Maria and the Salinas Valley.”

Although prices are firming up a bit, the wholesale cost of broccoli is still about 30 cents a pound--and that’s for the crowns only. Retail markups vary, but prices should be similarly reduced.

Cauliflower, which tends to move in lock-step with the broccoli market, has remained stable this spring at wholesale prices of 40 cents to 50 cents per pound.

As the season winds down in the warmer growing areas, look out for broccoli with signs of too-rapid growth. Broccoli heads should be tight and blue-green. Pass on any with signs of flowering or any that looks as if the crowns are opening. Also reject broccoli that looks wilted or limp.