Caulifower and Broccoli

Tora Bora

About the only vegeatables which constantly fail on me are Cauliflower and Broccoli
I just seem to always get mean little button heads.

Where am I going wrong? I always plant the seed out doors in mid April. In a good sheltered sunny site. I get good healthy plant for transplanting.

Transplanted the cauliflower last year. Got miserable little heads!
Tranplanted some of the brocolli and kept some in original position. Both lots were miserable.
Where am I going wrong? Have had same results pretty much 3 years in a row.
Same site, producing, top class spuds, carrots, parsnip, cabbage, peas, beans, turnip, and various other stuff. Bloody cauli and brocolli, getting me down!
Ground, is really good soil, free draaining, sheltered, south facing, gets loads of rotten farm manure every year as I plant and move around the spud patch.

mp22

Are the roots of these plants small and curled up by any chance http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/brassicas/Plasmodiophora-brassicae-club-root.php like this

pwd

When I had a vegetable patch, I never got broccoli to grow either. I planted onions and garlic too, and they both did really well.

looksee

Are you planting things in the same place in the plot each year? You need to move them round each year so nothing is in the same place two years running.

I found purple sprouting broccolli was easier to grow than the supermarket type. You get lots of little stalks with a kind of scatter of little heads. A bigger head forms in the middle but if you remove that (and eat it!) the plant will continue to put out nice kind of asparagus type shoots that turn green when you cook them. I gave up on cauli as it seems to hide caterpillars too efficiently!

Tora Bora

In summary to the various replys to my original post.
1. No club root. I never, ever buy in plants. I grow all my brassicas from seed, and club root is not the issue.

2. I rotate my crops diligently. I follow a four year rotation, DILIGENTLY.

Thanks

mp22

Clubroot is not got from bought in plants it lives in you soil.

mikom

mp22 wrote: »

Clubroot is not got from bought in plants it lives in you soil.

Bought in plants now come without any trace of soil attached.
That's a new one on me.

bmaxi

mikom wrote: »

Bought in plants now come without any trace of soil attached.
That's a new one on me.

I think the poster is saying you don't import club root, it's caused by a too acidic soil in your own garden. Bought in plants can come with no soil attached, the little plug plants you can buy are grown in a gel.

Tora Bora

bmaxi wrote: »

I think the poster is saying you don't import club root, it's caused by a too acidic soil in your own garden. Bought in plants can come with no soil attached, the little plug plants you can buy are grown in a gel.

What I'm saying, is I do not have club root. I know what it is, and it's not my problem.

bmaxi

Tora Bora wrote: »

What I'm saying, is I do not have club root. I know what it is, and it's not my problem.

Yes, I can see where you said that. I was actually replying to another post, no point in leaving people with misconceptions.
The usual cause for small heads is insufficient water but you probably knew that too.

mikom

bmaxi wrote: »

I think the poster is saying you don't import club root, it's caused by a too acidic soil in your own garden. Bought in plants can come with no soil attached, the little plug plants you can buy are grown in a gel.

to avoid introducing club root to your soil from an outside source, start your own plants from seed in a sterile potting mix.
From organicgardening.com ....... http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-2-9-1189,00.html

I think you'll find that the vast majority of cabbage, Caulifower and Broccoli that are available "bareroot" come with some soil attached.
There are literally tonnes of small garden centres, markets etc. selling them this way throughout the country.

Club root the fungal infection is caused thrives in damp acidic soil, and if you introduce it via infected soil it will fly along.

As for button heads Tora Bora your problem may stem from soil too loose at transplanting or a trace element deficiency. Turnips (another brassica) used to give trouble on my fathers farm due to a lack of boron, so that may be an issue. You can get a water on solution for this.

BeeDI

L

Graces7

looksee wrote: »

Are you planting things in the same place in the plot each year? You need to move them round each year so nothing is in the same place two years running.

I found purple sprouting broccolli was easier to grow than the supermarket type. You get lots of little stalks with a kind of scatter of little heads. A bigger head forms in the middle but if you remove that (and eat it!) the plant will continue to put out nice kind of asparagus type shoots that turn green when you cook them. I gave up on cauli as it seems to hide caterpillars too efficiently!

Agree re the sprouting broccoli. I gave up on cauli after one season of miniature heads......am trying the sprouting this year. It has more flavour.

Tora Bora

:D:D:D:D:D

Just thought I would let you all know, I cracked my cauli problem this year.
I have a dozen or more super heads to be picked this evening and frozen. 30 more coming up behind, planted later.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Qwerty?

My cauliflower heads are beginning to go black.
I'm considering pre-empting this by harvesting what's still in good shape and freezing it. Any advice on the procedure for freezing?

Thanks

mp22

After you take the head apart get a large pot of water,bring to the boil,put a small amount of collie in, bring back to the boil,boil hard for 3 minutes,remove and place the collie into cold water at once,dry off when cold,then freeze.repeat till your done.

owensomers

As the white curds are growing keep bending leaves over them..and plenty of watering