How do you get good caulifowers?

[Tee Gee]

I find them quite easy to grow as you can see in the pictures below, these were picked last week I think it was and I still have a few to pick yet.

I think the only tip I could give is avoid 'root disturbance'

Prick them out into 3" pots just as you can see the real leaves forming between the two seed leaves.

As I have said before and I will say again......I do not firm my soil prior to planting'! I think this hinders rather than helps the situation.

I like to see a huge root system (at least a foot across) when I lift them after harvesting!

I have tried the 'compaction technique' and find quite often when I lift the plants I can still see the basic shape of the pot they were in when planted out!

This to me can't be a good thing!!

I think variety plays a large part in success or failure....I only use F1's

The variety below is a new one I have tried this year it is called'Thompson F1 from Johsons seeds



nb the one above is sitting on a 9" diameter plate.

[Tee Gee]

[Duke Ellington]

Hi Tee Gee

Do you firm in all your other brassicas ?

Duke :)

[Borlotti]

Those cauliflowers are brilliant.  Good enough to eat.  ;D ;D  Mine looked like golf balls, but think they were a small variety, and the slugs did like them.   :( :( :(  Next year will be better.

[Tee Gee]

Do you firm in all your other brassicas ?

No!

It goes against all the principles of gardening that I know.

Why dig a garden then trample on it??

Deep bed systems were developed so you can plant closer and you don't need to walk on the beds, so is this not a contradiction from the experts, when they tell you to tread in your plants??

I like the closer planting system as I find that the plants support each other.

I plant out nothing greater than 15" apart between rows/plants!!

My theory is; if there is sufficient space for the root ball there is sufficient space for the plant! and as I mentioned before; my rootballs end up around 12" in diameter so 15" apart is enough!!

It is not that I am against the experts/writers but through trial & error over the years I find what I do is best for me!  so I say .....each to their own!

I know my ground and I know my sowing dates and I know my local weather, or at least I did until this so called 'climate change' come along!!

Now I experiment with stuff to see how late a crop I can get. e.g. these caulies & calabrese!

This year it has worked quite well! I am  happy to be picking a catch crop of these in November.

I guess other years I might not be able to do this but I keep my open to see what 'nature' is doing and take it from there!

My philosophy is; nothing ventured nothing gained!

[aggie]

Tee Gee What are the large red chillies in your photo? want to grow some.

[Tee Gee]

Doubt if you will be able to get these as seed.

Roughly three years ago I saw them on a greengrocers shelf in Calahonda in Spain and I bought one.

We ate the pepper and saved the seed i.e. I sun dried it on the window sill of our apartment.

The carrot shaped one was bought as a packet of seed (also in Spain) and I bought a packet!

A lot of the stuff I grow was got this way!

[aggie]

ok Tee Gee thanks Looks like a trip to Spain then :o :o I wish

[growmore]

Over wintering caulies are a lot easier to grow than summer ones
Variates like winter St George. Walter welcherams thanet (spelling of this will be wrong) are reliable caulies to grow. Set plants out in Aug Sept and harvest caulies in spring. the downside to these are they take your ground  up a long time and tend to grow too big.
Summer ones are harder to grow , They need growing quick so need plenty of muck dug in where they are going ,then BFB sprinkled round them occasionally as they are growing .Never let them dry out water them then if in doubt water them again.
I am with Davy on firming the soil prior to planting them out and firming them in well as you plant them . Reason for this is to stop the roots being disturbed as the wind rocks the plant which tends to make them blow.

[Tee Gee]

Finally had to lift the remainder of my stock this morning.

I noticed that the rain & cold had got into a couple of the smaller heads I had not got round to covering with snapped/broken leaves.

So I thought be safe rather than sorry!

This is what I picked!



BTW the tiles are 6" wide!!

[Borlotti]

Cauliflower cheese for dinner tonight.  ;D ;D ;D

[Digeroo]

Those caulis look brilliant.  Something to aim for next year... or maybe the year after.

[RobinOfTheHood]

I did a bit of an experiment a couple of years ago with my brassicas, firming in half the row and leaving the other half - this was after being rotavated.

The ones in open soil did slightly - noticeably - better than the firmed in ones, quicker growth and ultimately larger. It contradicts what several very experienced gardeners on our plots tell me.

This is something that I will probably repeat next year, as this year I planted everything into consolidated ground which had been left overwinter with a mulch of manure, and only the PSB has really come good, and I reckon PSB would come good wherever and in whatever it was planted!

We are on fairly heavy clay, BTW.

[aggie]

Tee Gee I bought some brassicas from Dobbies 50 for £9.95 which were delivered at the end of September. among them were some cauliflowers. I did not have room in my raised beds for them so put them in very large pots. They are growing well nice and healthy when will I get heads on them? and yes please. ;)

[tomatoada]

I bought some plants from Dobies in September.  They are Clapton, and are doing very well.  The heads are forming now. I harvested one last week and there is another ready now.  If yours are the same they should be ready for harvesting.   I like the way the leaves cover the white part. 

[aggie]

mine certainly have not got any heads yet the leaves are not even curling over.

[aggie]

Tomatoada How are your cabbages doing? mine are going great guns forming nicely. calabrese going well but nothing to pick yet.

[tomatoada]

Tomatoada How are your cabbages doing? mine are going great guns forming nicely. calabrese going well but nothing to pick yet.

Cabbages great for growing .  I have picked 3 out of16. They are a bit bitter.  How are yours?
The brassica pack from Dobies consisted of 16 cabbage,16 sprouts and 16 cauliflower plants.
All have done well.  The sprouts are really good and coming along well.  I am picking a few twice a week and they taste very good.

[aggie]

Like an idiot i put my sprout under the runner beans, thought i was being clever and saving space. thought when the beans were finished the sprouts would take over, well that's a lesson i have learnt this year the sprouts were rubbish in fact i pulled them up put them in the compost bin  :-[ :-[  starved of light  :'( :'(

[lottiedolly]

I am a cauli failiure and am not ashamed to admit it, i have decided that they dont like me, i have therefore officially given up!!!!

[tomatoada]

L/D  do you grow cabbage or sprouts?   If so you can grow cauliflowers.
Well dug bed.   Plant deep.  Puddle in.  Slug pellets.  Net.  Keep watered if necessary.  Weed carefully so not to disturb.  Await crop.