Topic: greenhouse cauliflowers

[woodybrown]

Hi all would it be worth putting half a dozen caulies in the greenhouse ,has anybody else had any success doing this.None of my brassicas came to much this year and thought it might be worth pop . Many thanx

[Buster54]

Anything is worth a shot it my book but depends on variety and whether you aint gonna use the greenhouse till after they have flowered which mybe april may dependin on variety 

[Jayb]

I've not grown them in a greenhouse only a polytunnel, quite similar growing conditions, results are usually good and its great to pick an early crop when nothing much else is about. But they do take up a fair bit of room and they need to mature fairly quickly/early to make room for summer crops. I've got some growing on that I'll plant into the polytunnel as soon as there is room. What variety are you growing?

[davyw1]

I think its a bit to late, the shortest growing time for a Cauli is 75 days which is Candid Charm while it is quite hardy i dont know if it will survive the cold nights. Another factor is shorter daylight hours.
I you had done it in August you may have been in with a chance although plants seem to get drawn in a GH.

[woodybrown]

Many thanx , they are a baby variety and they are about 2 inches tall at the moment and growing well.I only grow chillis and various peppers in there so the timing should be ok.The thing that bothers me is lack of daylight hours and would it be ok if i fleeced them in there as well. I have only put half a dozen in so nothing ventured nothing gained, i dont want to put a heat source in the g house because we get turned over quite often and i dont want to give them anything to play with. Ta again

[planetearth]

Absolutely yes.

The best cauliflowers we ever had were grown in the greenhouse, the flavour was incredible, don't ask how or why.  The variety was the common "All Year Round" and in the GH were completely free from pests and diseases.  Well worth doing and you can plant them out with a decent head (tennis ball size) on if you take a big enough root ball - helps with spreading readiness.

[darkbrowneggs]

Absolutely yes.

The best cauliflowers we ever had were grown in the greenhouse, the flavour was incredible, don't ask how or why.  The variety was the common "All Year Round" and in the GH were completely free from pests and diseases.  Well worth doing and you can plant them out with a decent head (tennis ball size) on if you take a big enough root ball - helps with spreading readiness.

That sounds good

What time did you plant the seed, and when did you transplant them?

[planetearth]

I transplanted seedlings to greenhouse bed and old growbags in autumn (after clearing tomatoes from) then planted cauliflowers out at various times in spring, with decent tennis ball sized heads on and with a good root ball.  I left some in the greenhouse and harvested from there.  The really were excellent flavour.  Haven't done any this year - forgot!

[darkbrowneggs]

Were the seeds sown in March April time along with all the normal brassicas?

[davyw1]

I am a bit lost at what you are trying to achieve by growing cauli,s in the GH now.
Are you trying to grow a summer/autumn type to cut in the winter months or growing an over wintering type to cut early
What type do you intend to plant

[planetearth]

In addition to normal spring sowing, for the greenhouse grown ones I put more seed down in late summer hoping for a bit extra!  As I said, the results were a delight and very pleasant surprise.  It costs nothing except a bit of care and well worth the effort.

[darkbrowneggs]

Thanks - I shall try and make a note to myself for next year. 

I have some salad in the polytunnel, but I must admit I am not really keen on salad, except on warm summer days, so the rest of the beds are pretty well empty.  It would have been good to plant caulis when the sweetcorn were cleared, and as long as not too many go in there should still be rooms for some early peas and broad beans, and a bit of early salad leaves

If they were planted end Aug. to end Sept then they might even be cleared in time for early season planting next year?  What does everyone think?  Also might Romaneso work as well?

It seems a waste to see the bed empty, and as I say winter salads are not really my thing.

[green lily]

Yep I had caulis in the poly overwinter and they were good enough for me to put a couple in a month or so back when I planted out the rest. I forgot they get big so don't plant too close to the part.... I also put in spring cabbage to come on earlier than the outdoors batch. They're all hardy so don't need fleece like the winter lettuce [which could probably manage without].