Sprouting cauliflowers!

[MagpieDi]

Just wondering why my caulis have grown like this ? !  Would be grateful for any advice to avoid the same with my next batch!  Many thanks.
Btw, they were a bit tough when cooked, and not very pleasant flavour. Variety 'Snowball'.

[MagpieDi]

[wardy]

You'd think it would still taste the same as if it had grown normally.  It looks quite wierd - very beautiful though.  It looks very healthy doesn't it  :)

[john_miller]

What soil type do you have?

[Mrs Ava]

ooo ooo...mine do that everytime!  On the verge of giving up on them..however, yours are lovely and white Di, mine always go like that and look dirty!

John, as you know, Essex clay for me.

[Amazin]

At least yours are sprouting!!

I'm growing mini-caulis this year and, though the growth is very healthy, there's no sign of 'produce' yet.

Mini? Microscopic perhaps!

[john_miller]

This site has a large amount of information about growing cauliflower it: http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/cauliflower.html
I suspect that you have "witches brooms" (in the curd defects section near the bottom).
In the few years I grew cauliflower on London clay EJ I never got this (at least I don't remember getting it) so I think that you both have an insect killing out the main growing point at some point. Witches broom is a frequent problem in trees apparently (I've never heard the term before but google found some references) generally associated with infection by a phytoplasm and it is possible that they may also cause this problem in cauliflower (the only time I've ever had to deal with a phytoplasm was distortion in lettuce caused by Aster yellows. Aster yellows is spread by potato leafhoppers!) as any individual species can have a very wide host range.

[Mrs Ava]

hhhmmm....could well be bugs and slimeys John as I do seem to have an abundance on the plot.  Okay, fleece and police the plants next time!  Fingers crossed.

[ChrisH]

I found this (its a bit long) so here is an extract from http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/cauliflower.html


"CAULIFLOWER CURD DEFECTS

Ricey: curds acquire a velvety appearance somewhat like a pot of boiled rice. This is caused by the development of small white flower buds. This defect is attributed to high temperatures during curd development and is aggravated by overmaturity and with rapid growth and heavy N side-dressing. Some varieties are more prone to riceyness than others.

Leaves in curd: Small leaves in the curd occur when the plant responds to warm temperature after the curd forms. The cause is due to reversion to vegetative growth.

Yellow and green curds: Yellowing and greening is due to excessive exposure to sunlight and resultant chlorophyll formation. The occurrence of whiptail, a molybdenum deficiency disorder, may contribute to this problem by making it difficult to tie plants, or provide adequate leaf cover, to shield heads from sunlight. Yellowing may also be associated with over-mature heads. (See also item on "purpling" below).

Browning of curds: Brown discoloration and breakdown of curds is associated with boron and calcium deficiency and certain diseases.

Pink curds: Pinking generally occurs in the interior branches of the head. It is reported to be due to excessively cool temperatures at harvest for the variety being grown. Some varieties are more prone to pinking than others. Snowball types are resistant to this defect.

Purple curd discoloration: Purpling occurs on the surface of the head. Varieties differ in their sensitivity to purpling. In sensitive varieties (Snowball types), purpling may be aggravated by overmaturity or poor leaf cover that causes heads, or portions of them, to be exposed to light. Poor plant growth and leaf cover may be caused by compacted soils or nutrient, temperature, water, or other stress conditions that limit growth. In western Oregon, plants in the first fields to be harvested may be stunted due to excessively high temperatures that can occur in late July and early August. Also, premature head initiation may be triggered by cool temperatures (50-60 F). This stops leaf formation and may cause heads to be formed on plants that have inadequate leaf growth for good head protection. When these conditions occur, heads may have to be harvested smaller than desirable, before they become exposed or overmature.

Head shape: Low temperatures promote flat heads while high temperatures promote conical shaped heads.

Internal cavitation and discoloration: Recent research at Oregon State University indicates that these disorders increase with increasing rates of nitrogen and water. Furthermore that boron deficiency may aggravate discoloration, and that high boron applications may not effectively reduce discolored cavities caused by high nitrogen and water rates.

Buttons: Buttoning is the formation of miniature heads of poor quality due to premature shift to generative stage. This is caused by using plants that are quite large (with thick stems) at the time of transplanting to the field. Such plants go quickly into the generative phase producing a smaller than normal head. The condition may also be aggravated by stressful environmental conditions that cause the shift from vegetative to generative growth resulting in buttoning of a percentage of the plants. Severe N deficiency and crowding of plants in the transplant bed have been reported to be contributing factors.

Blindness: A percentage of the plants in the field form no heads at all due to some injury. The injury can be due to cold temperatures slightly above 32 F for spring-planted cauliflower as the cauliflower just passes the seven-leaf stage, or from freezing injury during initial stages of curd formation. For summer-planted, fall harvested cauliflower, other causes for blindness reported are: Growing point damage from insects (larvae of the diamond-back moth, thrips, lygus bug, diabrotica, and certain cutworms), and rodents. Also moisture stress and injury from certain insecticide solvents during periods of high temperature (over 90 F if these occur just at the beginning stages of curd initiation) have also been implicated. Molybdenum deficiency is not believed to be involved, but speculation has centered on calcium and/or boron deficiency during very early stages of seedling growth or transplant production. It is also thought that the latter conditions may be aggravated by factors that limit root growth (herbicide, moisture, compaction etc.)

Frost damage: In general, varieties with good curd protection and dense heads would be less sensitive to early fall radiation frosts (where temperature of plant tissues falls below the temperature of ambient air because of radiant heat loss to the clear night sky) that discolor the curd surface. Leaves tend to protect the curd and greater density would mean greater storage of heat during daylight hours.

Witches brooming: A proliferation of axillary shoots occurs as a result of damage to the growing point. This may, or may not be associated with "blindness" and "buttoning", and may be induced by boron deficiency. Sometimes one or more of these side-shoots will form a small curd.
"

[Mrs Ava]

Wow Chris, thanks for that!  One for me to print out as I seem to suffer from all of those symptoms on every cauli I grow!

[MagpieDi]

Hi John
I'm growing on a Yorkshire Pennine peat bog !!  ;D   As soon as I read your post, I thought d*mn I forgot to add lime !!   ::)   Could that be the problem, maybe, soil far too acid ?  Have read the info, and it would seem of all the brassicas, caulis in particular have a high lime requirement. Also mentioned is Boron deficiency. What is the procedure for correcting that please?

Thanks for your link too Chris.

Wardy  :)  Looks like the only thing I got right was covering the curds to keep them white!!  :D  Our local farmer ( the one who sells veggie boxes) has now put a sign out selling caulis for 20p !!  :o   Reckon he might have had acres of 'em as sad looking as mine !!   ;)   ;D  Will call tomorrow and have a nosey!!   ;)

[wardy]

20 p for a cauli!  Like you say the farmer may have the same prob as you.  They should be quite edible though  :)

[john_miller]

Hi John
I'm growing on a Yorkshire Pennine peat bog !!  ;D   As soon as I read your post, I thought d*mn I forgot to add lime !!   ::)   Could that be the problem, maybe, soil far too acid ?  Have read the info, and it would seem of all the brassicas, caulis in particular have a high lime requirement. Also mentioned is Boron deficiency. What is the procedure for correcting that please?

If your plants are not exhibiting any signs of nutrient deficency then I wouldn't assume your soil is too acid. Have you ever done a pH test? The site specifically mentions that an organic soil, which is what you have, will allow satisfactory cauliflower growth in a pH as low as 5.5 without the addition of lime.
Over here we have a properiatary product called Solubor which is used to reverse boron deficencies. I'm not sure what is available in the U.K.. However, if your plants are not showing signs of B deficency, as detailed here:
http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/min-def/cauliflr.htm ,
then an application of a B fertiliser without first testing the soil could be disasterous as B toxicity is very easy to induce.

[micsmum]

I can ask our agriculture specialist - I work at Borax!
Helen