Topic: Autumn caulis?

[gray1720]

A neighbour on our allotments has today harvested a near-perfect cauliflower. I've never been able to give them enough water often enough, especially not now I live further away, but today's rancid hurling-it-sideways weather has got me thinking. Are there varieties that crop late enough that I could take advantage of (hopefully!) wet autumn weather to get decent curds, or am I wishing for the impossible?

[JanG]

Caulis are something I love the challenge of growing and try to get maturing through the year by growing different varieties. I don’t find they need an exceptional amount of rain,although summer caulis are the most difficult to get good results from.
I water caulis in extreme drought such as we had this summer but otherwise treat them just like other brassicas and, apart from covering them, leave them to their own devices.
Clapton and Belot are two varieties which are good for maturing at this time of year. North Foreland bulks up through the autumn and matures around January. There are lots of varieties which stand through winter and gather size and strength to head in the spring and early summer, and these are perhaps the easiest to get consistently good results from. They need quite a lot of space for almost a year in some cases though. Sow in May and harvest in May, for example. So, to take advantage of autumn rains, there are not only autumn varieties like Clapton and Belot, but winter and spring varieties too.

[Digeroo]

Have you tried the Romanesco varieties?  I personally find them easier to grow.
I am hopeless at caulis either I get several all the same time when there is a glut in the shops or I get nothing.

[Tee Gee]

As I recall, my early variety choice was Candid Charm which I sowed around the last week in March or 1st week in April. My choice for the late variety was Thompson, which I sowed the week I planted out Candid Charm. The Candid Charm was usually harvestable around the middle to end of July, and the late varieties from mid-September onwards.

I did similarly with Calabrese, where I sowed Chevalier as an early variety and Marathon as a late variety at the same times as the Caulies.

My Purple Sprouting Broccoli choice was Purple Cape where I sowed around mid-August and planted out when the early Caulies came out and harvested from around April onwards.

I hope this helps!

[Tiny Clanger]

Hi, I planted some Clapton out in April and they did not do too well this year.  I sowed some Zaragoza injuly and planted out in August - bit late but what the heck - they are just coming in now and they are fantastic.  I think the Clapton suffered from the heat, although I tried to give them enough water.

[JanG]

I happened to harvest my first Clapton yesterday and it was probably the best quality and largest cauliflower I’ve ever grown. It was sown 11th June and planted out 30th July. There are three or four slightly smaller ones to come in the next week or so.
It looks like the later plantings did better as they had more chance to benefit from autumn rains.
I agree that it’s difficult to avoid gluts. I never plant out more than about six of any one variety at a time.

[gray1720]

Apologies for the delay in getting back - life's been a bit busy the last few days!

Thank you all for those - sounds as though I need to get trying. Do love a nice cauli!

[gray1720]

Ha! Well, I finally caught said neighbour on her plot and we chatted about caulis (amongst other things) - turns out she's no idea what variety they are, they're just what she had in a seed packet!

[Paulh]

I'm always amazed that some people don't know what varieties they are growing (or haven't got it written down somewhere to check) - yet if they see you have something doing well. they want to know what it is!

[gray1720]

My thoughts exactly, Paul! I know I can't always oblige with details because I've lost labels, or they've blown away, or whatever, but apart from packets of "mixed greens" or radish, which I sprinkle several varieties of into the greenhouse bed just to give some variety, I usually have a good idea what I'm growing!

Anyone remember the old T&M Lottery Mixture? I remember Mum growing a very handsome plant that turned out to be Deadly Nightshade!   

[Tee Gee]

I sometimes use Chiltern seeds and after ordering what I want I have look in their bargain basement where I sometimes buy 10 packets of perhaps annuals,perennials and last year it was ' mixed perrenial plants' so I bought some.
When they arrived one packet was named....mixed greenhouse plants. When I opened the packet there was a right mixture so whatI did was sifted through the seeds and put then into groups of seeds that were of a similar size,shape and colour then packeted them up and named themGh1 Gh2 etc and ended up with 13 types.

I didn't sow them all so I sowed around 5 seeds of 6 varieties and. I have secured around20 plants but have no idea what they are.

So looking forward to next season to see what I get.

For a bit of fun  next spring I plan on sowing a few of all 13 types.

The way. I look at it is it a bit of fun and even if  I only end up with just half a dozen plants they might be plants that I would have paid a fewpounds for at a nursery so then. I know I have had a bit of fun,something to look forwar,d to,and with the ever increasing price of plants these day I have got a bargain.

[Plot22]

I note that Tiny Clanger like myself grows club root resistant varieties that's because I have to otherwise I would not get a cauliflower. With these varieties and may I add another Kilazol I get perfect cauliflowers although even though I split the settings up I still get a glut. I don't grow winter caulis any longer they are too long in the ground and hold up my planting . I leave the timing of the cropping to my wife because if I cut one it will be too soon or too late so better leave it to her she knows best.
On the other subjects I keep accurate records of the varieties of all  the veg I grow if I am asked the question what variety is that I sometimes have to come back to the person as my memory is not what it was.
The other point is that this year for 2023 and 20222 I have not paid above £1 for any of my seeds other than the specialised ones. I am registered with all the big suppliers and when they are selling their seeds off I have bought them even the club root resistant ones and that is a big saving. Ok the dates are a bit tight and I will accept the odd failure in germination but overall I am ok with that when I realise how much I have saved.

[Tee Gee]

OK the dates are a bit tight and I will accept the odd failure in germination

Been there done that, which is, with older seeds I would sow 25-30% more seeds than I would have done had they been from new packets to cater for a potential reduction in numbers that may not have germinated.

Quite often sods law kicked in, and I often got a near perfect germination rate, meaning I had a surplus.

This was never a problem as there was always someone that needed some plants!

As I saw it, this was a better situation than not having enough for myself.

Another thing, if someone gave me plants or seeds that I had never grown before, I would plant out around 80% of my favoured varieties and made up the other 20% with the new variety. This way I got a true comparison in seeing if the new variety was better/worse than my favoured variety, as they had been grown in identical conditions.

The following year, I would choose the variety that was best for me!