Topic: Spring cabbage and cauliflowers?

[Normylass]

I am looking to buy my seeds for spring cabbage and cauliflowers.
Anyone have a favourite/recommendation. I live near Leeds in West Yorkshire.
I have found cauliflowers very difficult to grow in my first two seasons, I think variety must play a big part in this.
Thank you in advance.

[PeterVV]

My spring cabbage were planted in September!

[Normylass]

Peter,

I know I am wanting recomendations for seed to buy to start off this year to eat in spring 2012!

All the best
Normylass

[rugbypost]

TO late for spring cabage but cauliflowers you can start them and summer cabbage next month  indoors ready to go out Decide your area  manure well this year and plant potatoes or another crop then this september garden lime the same area and this will become you r cabbage, cauliflower, brussels  area for next spring i grow Hispi f1 cabbage primo11  & cauliflower all year round if you need help message me and i will go through it all with you .Rugbypost

[Normylass]

Thank you  Rugbypost.

[saddad]

I'm a real fan of Purple Cape Cauli which I find very dependable... but the colour isn't to everyones tastes! ( It goes green when you boil it)

[Normylass]

Thank you Saddad

[manicscousers]

we prefer to grow romanesco broccoli, they're not as fussy as cauli and you can freeze them without them going mushy  ;D
we do alwasy grow half a dozen cauli too  :)

[Tee Gee]

I think variety must play a big part in this.

In my opinion it certainly does, although I wouldn't say variety particulary but certainly types.

I will only grow F1 brassicas!

As I grow just a few miles from you you might be interested in what I have success with and they are;

Sprouts; Maximus, United, Hamlet - I only grow a few of the latter two Maximus is my banker


Calabrese; Chevalier, Green Magic, Marathon and Decicco - The latter is a new one I am trying this year so know nothing about it.

Cauliflower; Candid Charm,Snow Prince Thompson.

I am also having a go with de sicilla violtto and graffiti ( both purple varieties)

Sunset & verdi di macerata which are yellow & orange varieties.

I am not a great cabbage lover so I don't grow many of these but these are the ones I grow a few of;

Cabbage; Primo(early)Tundra, Durham Early, Flower of Spring and April.

Savoy; Ormskirk


 ps Yes I know my cabbages are not all F1's but as I said cabbages are not my thing so anything goes with these.

However I do get quite good results from them particularly Tundra!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've got Delaway cabbage from a seed swap, Spis Bladene kale and St George cauliflower fromthe HSL, and several named varieties of Couve Tronchuda coming from the US. Anyone know any of these? I won't be growing everything out this year as I want to save seed, and I want to try a purple broccoli breeding experiment as well. I can't manage to segregate more than two brassicas a year.

[Normylass]

Wow thank you very much Tee Gee and Robert,

I can feel confident now when I order my seeds, I still need to buy Brussels as well so all that information is very useful.

Normylass :-)   

[Normylass]

I have been and bought Maximus Brussels,  ;D
My seed box is a wonderful sight  ;)

[Dandytown]

I grew 'all year round' cauliflower last year which was my first time for growing them.

i can not remember when I started them off but I can tell you that they were in my greenhouse for too long as I just didn't have anywhere to plant them until quite late.  That said, I kept them well watered, heeled them in and I ended up with a prize crop with very large white curds.

Either beginners luck or good variety?

Good luck

[saddad]

Either beginners luck or good variety?

Probably a bit of both...  ;D

[Ellen K]

I'm still learning here too.

But I think there is a fundamental difference in growing brassicas compared to most other crops.

With brassicas, you have to grow the biggest healthiest plants you can in pots.  Then prepared the ground with manure, lime etc.  Bung it all in.  Then plant them in the ground and hope that they have enough horsepower to outrun the clubroot, slugs, whitefly etc to produce an edible crop.

With other plants, you might drip feed the food in.  But if brassicas don't go in strong and take off rapidly, then they have a lot less of a chance of making anything.

That is my advice FWIW.

[rugbypost]

Ihave been growing all year round cauliflowers  for 3 years never had a bad crop. I was told never put lime and manure together what patch you manured last year , then limed last autum. i never redig the plot as it needs to be firm. The first lot of cauli seeds get sown  start of febuary and i plant out middle of april sometimes end of march and i cover with fleeze. Imake a hole sprinkle in more garden lime firm the plant in a bit more lime around the plant a few slugpellets , and over the years of collecting pop bottles cut off top and bottom split bottle down the middle cut in half again  and but them arond your plants this method works for me and like saddad you will have great cabbage and califlowers  I sow seed for winer growing in  April and plant out as soon as room there is room      Rugbypost

[kt.]

Ihave been growing all year round cauliflowers  for 3 years never had a bad crop.

Neve had a cauli from All Year Round.  My candid charm grow the size of footballs (Jun-Oct).  Going to try Belot from Kings for my xmas cauli.  Supposedly harvest Nov-Jan.

[jazzidoodle]

Ihave been growing all year round cauliflowers  for 3 years never had a bad crop. I was told never put lime and manure together what patch you manured last year , then limed last autum. i never redig the plot as it needs to be firm. The first lot of cauli seeds get sown  start of febuary and i plant out middle of april sometimes end of march and i cover with fleeze. Imake a hole sprinkle in more garden lime firm the plant in a bit more lime around the plant a few slugpellets , and over the years of collecting pop bottles cut off top and bottom split bottle down the middle cut in half again  and but them arond your plants this method works for me and like saddad you will have great cabbage and califlowers  I sow seed for winer growing in  April and plant out as soon as room there is room      Rugbypost

So can you help me.  Because of my illness and then the awful weather up here in Scotland I have not been able to lime in the autumn, do I lime or add manure when finally the grown thaws - when ever that may be.  Haven't seen a blade of grass since 20th November!