I've been given a packet of Cauliflower seeds which say its a good all year rounder. Is it too late to sow directly into final growing place. I'm in the south, where there's no rain and I cant work out if growing times (allotment-scale) are simply put back as a result...or if the impact on growth/harvest is more severe.
Thanks for all your comments.
Sowing Cauliflowers:
* Sow summer varieties of cauliflower under glass in mid January and transplant outdoors in late March for a crop in June/July. Sow outdoors in early April and transplant in June for a crop in August/September.
* Sow autumn varieties of cauliflower outdoors between mid April and mid May transplanting them in late June.
* Sow winter varieties of cauliflower in May for transplanting in late July. In the UK growing cauliflower in winter is usually only successful in the south/west - Devon and Cornwall especially. For more northerly areas it will always be a risk.
Some varieties, like All the Year Round (I'm wondering whether that's yours) are pretty adaptable. I'll be planting another few shortly.
I'll still be sowing my Winter Cauli... Purple Cape into July. :)
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on June 02, 2011, 16:13:10
Some varieties, like All the Year Round (I'm wondering whether that's yours) are pretty adaptable. I'll be planting another few shortly.
I am thinking of doing the same. Checked the packet which reccomends up until the mid of June for AYR.
Have sown some Purple Cape and Romansco today
That reminds me; I'm sure I have some Purple Cape somewhere. It's a venerable old variety which deserves to be grown!
I have just sown galiote for harvest November onwards, and will sow Triomphant next week for late december onward. fastnet will be sown october for may / June 2012.
All Year round cauli can be sown now if you want to. It rather depends on the weather at the end of autumn.
Cauli is not the easiest and most reliable so if you want 'something' plant or rather sow a few savoy seeds. Or other late cabbage types. Still time to sow PSB over the next few days too.
Never sow a full packet of seeds either. Most will last a couple of seasons if carefully opened and re sealed with selotape and kept in a dining room drawer. (That is somewhere dry, not too hot or cold).
DONT be a bloke and tear open a seed packet then put it in your pocket.
Use scissors and re-seal the packet after taking out a few seeds and carefully keep what is left for another year.
If you check contents the packet contains something like 250 seeds.
Even if 10% germinate that is 25.
80% should germinate that is 200 so keep a few back.
Be a Man and stick it in your pocket. :D :-*
Quote from: newspud9 on June 02, 2011, 09:33:27
I've been given a packet of Cauliflower seeds which say its a good all year rounder. Is it too late to sow directly into final growing place. I'm in the south, where there's no rain and I cant work out if growing times (allotment-scale) are simply put back as a result...or if the impact on growth/harvest is more severe.
Thanks for all your comments.
Dont be mislead into thinking that All Year Round cauli,s will give you curds every month of the year,, they wont. Most AYR are finished by November so if you sow some now you should be OK to get some by October into November but what we cant anticipate is the weather so you may have better or worse growing time.
Give them a little drink every day if you can, get as much of the stem buried as possible and make sure that they are well firmed into the ground, they do not like movement
Many thanks for all the comments... i will definitely sow some this w/end... and very useful to hear of other varieties...i dont know if AYR will turn out to be a bit lack lustre by comparison...that is if i can actually get it to grow.
It's not so much getting it to grow as getting decent heads. I don't find it too hard, but if it won't cooperate, you can still eat the leaves.
Just popped in some Autumn Giant seeds they should be ready for October / November with a bit of luck ;)