[Lulu]

I'm thinking it might be fun & tasty to grow cauliflowers next year, but I know nothing about them except they are expensive and come in plastic bags  
I don't even know what they look like as  a plant - its appalling isn't it - so any hits or tips on which ones to grow and what problems to look out for. I'm thinking cabbage whites and their offspring could be a problem?

[DD.]

Hi Lulu.

There are many who would describe cauliflowers as far from fun to grow, but you get great satisfaction when you do.

Can you tell us what space you have, what soil conditions are and if you are on an allotment site, if there is a history of club root there.

As with all brassicas, they need protection from butterflies.

[Elcie]

They look like a cauliflower but have lots of leaves on the outside.  Kind of like a loose cabbage but with a white head in the middle.  They grow quite low to the ground but the leaves can get big.

To be honest they can be quite tricky to grow.

[Kristen]

I think the biggest problem with Cauli's is that they harvest season is short - a couple of weeks from the first being ready to the last. So don't sow a whole row in one go - unless you want to freeze them.

I grow a few in small pots every couple of weeks, and then plant out when they are ready.

They like firm ground, so I do not touch the ground in the spring - the Autumn cultivation and preparation is all they get.

There are two types - the "open" headed ones, and the closed headed - the leaves grow up in a "spike" and the head forms inside. I prefer those as they don't get the sun on the curds so much. "Candid Charm" gets my vote

Can't say I've found them hard to grow, but I have read people say that. There is a bit on My Blog about hot I netted them against Flutterbys

[Stevens706]

Thanks Kristen just ordered some Candid Charm from capital gardens

[DD.]

My recommendation is "Clapton". They are club root resistant and if you're unsure if your ground has club root you're onto a banker.

I've tried on my ground for 7/8 years to grow summer caulis - this is the first time I succeeded.

[Lulu]

Hi DD & everyone else
sorry to take so long to answer but I'm revising for an exam in a couple of weeks.  My lottie has clay soil, and as I don't know what club root looks like I don't think I've got it.  I've successfully grown cabbages and this year broccoli and the sprouts look good.  they have needed protection from butterflies (I lost my crops last year). 

thanks for your suggestions - duly noted, any further advice always gratefully received.

  Lulu

[beansticks]

Candid Charm for me.

[Yorkie]

Candid Charm for me.

Is that a description of yourself or the variety 

[j haywood]

trying a variety called serac from d t brown seeds for  over winter growing, but will use some protection for harsh frost  and very we t conditions

[plum crumble]

  definitely use debris netting against those lovely cabbage white monster offspring - or you'll end up going bonkers like me,  resorting to attacking the beasts on my brassicas with a pair of scissors. I became a creature obsessed! I failed miserably with the caulies because not only did I completely underestimate the caterpillars, I also did not understand about shielding the curd from the sun. Good luck!

[Snoop]

Kristen, could you give me/us some advice about Candid Charm based on your experience?

I've had a look about the assorted seed suppliers and they seem to vary a bit as regards sowing and harvesting dates. When do you start sowing and when do you stop? And how long do yours take roughly till you can harvest them? One site I've seen says they can be picked at tennis ball size. Do you agree?

[Kristen]

I sow from March to end of May, harvest the first ones in July and I still have some not ready yet, so they will be early to mid October.

I've not picked them tennis ball size, I don't grow enough to make a meal out of small veg! we normally make ours into Cauliflower cheese, and harvest when we want a meal (rather than making a meal because we have loads of, say, tennis ball sized Caulis).  I reckon you could grow them closer together if you were growing for tennis ball size?

[Snoop]

Thanks, Kristen, great information. Some suppliers are overly optimistic, I think. One suggests sowing April to May, with harvesting starting in June. I thought that was too good to be true.

I find small caulis in summer quite useful. Love cauliflower and courgette curry, for example, but I wouldn't be making cauliflower cheese at that time of year, as the kitchen would get too hot, sadly. A cauli that can get used up in its entirety for two people is perfect. Tennis ball is maybe too small if I want leftovers, but a compact head is handy.

[Kristen]

... maybe too small if I want leftovers

Changing tack ...

... we like to cook more veg than the meal needs, then everyone has plenty.  Any leftovers [and side-of-plate excesses!] get frozen as-is and then used to make Soup. I have one of those chuck-it-in-and-press-button soup makers which does an excellent job.  I either use homemade stock, or water and a stock cube, and then chuck the veg in  (and usually a small chillie ) and that does me for lunch.

If I pick more beans etc. than the meal needs they go in the steamer after the meal is served and get added to the frozen soup ingredients box later on That also means that the water in the bottom of the steamer is "thick" with vegetable juice, and is good in the soup maker too.

A series of Tupperware freezer boxes, right-sized for maximum soup-maker batch and each "batch" makes 3 - 4  bowls of soup.

(I prefer not to freeze the soup itself, as it takes up more space than just the ingredients)