Topic: Growing Cauliflower

[Mrs Ava]

Okay, you all helped me enormously when I asked how to grow sweetcorn well, and I have been rewarded with the most amazing plot filled with plants, some over 6 foot tall, all with 3, 4, and 5 cobs growing up the stems.  So many thanks to you all.  Because you are all so knowledgeable, I would now like to pick your brains at growing caulis.  I have had a certain amount of success with my spring sown ones, but the white ones were small and dirty and very unappetizing looking.  The purple ones have been lovely, but not like caulis. The curds all grew haphazardly, more like sprouting brocolli, but they were delicious.  So, I have now sown some winter hardy caulis.  They have germinated in their individual cells but do not yet have their first true leaves.  What do I do to grow caulis like you see in Tims pics???  Thank you in advance, cauli growers everywhere.  :-*

[Wicker]

Tim probably has his own methods to get such results but we dig in our own compost early on then a week or two before planting out rake in some growmore.  thing I think best is to give a wee feeding of nitrate of soda couple of times a week when plants are growing - think this helps the curds form tightly.  Good luck - still find it can be a game of chance

[growmore]

Hi EJ,
        They ancient art of growing big caulis eh?? :-\
Right here is my input on it.
You need manure digging in this backend as in sep oct nov,,,  As much as you can spare it needs to be bulky stuff as in stable stock yard etc not compost which is friable,
As we say up her in Yorks "summat with some body in it" .That will hold moisture
Then when you sow seeds and prick out make sure the plants from the start are never  short of water if they ever dry out you will get little curds that bolt.
I stand my cauli plants in a tray of water about half inch deep.
when plants are ready to got out lightly dig the site and rake in some good light compost
I use the concentrated organic stuff that comes in bags.
Then set your plants never letting them dry out and a liquid feed from bottom every week or so,,You should get decent caulis this way'.
If you want the big uns before you set your plants dig a hole just about 8 inch deep to side of where each plant is going and put a piece of plastic pipe about 3 inch in diameter at an angle bottom pointing towards plant sticking up about 6inch or so above soil replace soil around the pipe.   this is where you water and feed em with liquid feed.
Prob a good road if you cant get to lotty every day keep this pipe topped up.
A pinch of sulpate of ammonia once they get established can be mixed with water as well but not often.
You need to get plenty of growth before curds start to form.
Once they do  never water them from the top, lift leaves up over curd and tie em at the top to keep out light.
Keep feeding them all the time as caulis are very hungry..
I would also spay em with my sybol about 6 to 8 weeks after planting out..But i know a lot of you dont like chemicals
YOU have took a challenge on here EJ as I was always told ."when you can grow a good cauli then you can call Yourself a gardener"
I think of all veg they are the hardest of all to grow consistently well.
cheers ..Jim,
 

[john_miller]

The biggest cauliflowers I ever got was after a bout of double digging.

[tim]

Not sure, Emma, what you mean about my things - the one in the pic was, like most of the row this year, 'ready'  at 3". I'm picking before the fleabeetles & earwigs ruin them. They may grow bigger, but then we'll have the usual glut. Maybe you meant the one from last year, that I slipped in to make you really mad, & then removed?? (below, showing the basal shoots as good measure, on a bread-board).

Wish there was an easy answer. I do all the wrong things. I don't use manure (am a bit this year) - just masses of compost. I don't let the ground firm up before planting - usually a mad rush to get the plot rotovated, & then the plants go into fluffy ground. I don't space things properly. I don't water. And this year I gave up on fleece, because the 'repeating' cauli grew so tall - see elsewhere. I do use BF&B on planting. = Tim

[Mrs Ava]

Yes Tim ,is was your whopper that I was referring to!  Thanks for all the info GM and others.  My plot had been double dugged John, but no manure as I didn't have any available at the time of planting.  My little germinated babies will now receive lashings of water, and  I shall get oooooodles of chunky stuff into the ground as soon as the bed is clear, firm and plant.  I am hoping that as they are going to be in over the winter they won't need much in the way of extra water.  I shall keep trying.  :)