I Love Cauliflower...

[kath]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

Kath, do you get a lot of those little worms on cauliflower? I tried growing broccoli and had a time with thousands of those worms. I soaked, washed thoroughly in salted water at least five times, and still had those worms after cooking. I vowed, I was done with growing Brassicaceae, but I do love cauliflower and your pictures are making me want to give it a try again. But, I just hate those worms.

Usually with cauliflower, we find and squish any caterpillar worms on the leaves that escape my intermittent BT spraying before they get to the interior. I don't use buried row covers so BT is a must for brassicas here.

[Worth1]

You guys should try battered deep fried cauliflower.
Unbelievable but they served it in the Marines.
That is one of the prettiest cauliflowers I have ever seen.

Worth

[kath]

Thanks, Worth! Maybe the Urban Farms fertilizers bumped things up a notch this year.

I've never deep fried anything.

[b54red]

A little hint on tying the leaves is to use some plain old clothespins. I pull two or three leaves from opposite sides to the top and pinch them together and secure with a clothespin. Sometimes I use two. That way it is really easy to check on the covered cauliflower to see if it is ready to cut.

Always keep cauliflower and similar veggies well coated with BT. I use the dust called Dipel and dust after every rain or as new growth appears every week or so.

If anyone has a really good recipe for cooked cauliflower I would love to have it as I am planning on growing a few this year.

Bill

[livinonfaith]

Kath, those are some beautiful cauliflowers! I know that when I pick kale fresh from the garden, it tastes a lot sweeter and tastier. Is it the same with cauliflower?

[kath]

Originally Posted by b54red

A little hint on tying the leaves is to use some plain old clothespins. I pull two or three leaves from opposite sides to the top and pinch them together and secure with a clothespin. Sometimes I use two. That way it is really easy to check on the covered cauliflower to see if it is ready to cut.

Always keep cauliflower and similar veggies well coated with BT. I use the dust called Dipel and dust after every rain or as new growth appears every week or so.

If anyone has a really good recipe for cooked cauliflower I would love to have it as I am planning on growing a few this year.

Bill

Thanks for the tip, Bill. Have you found a good source for Dipel dust? It seems it would be much more expensive to use that way but with the leaves always being wet here, it'd be a lot easier for me to treat the plants regularly.

kath

[kath]

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

Kath, those are some beautiful cauliflowers! I know that when I pick kale fresh from the garden, it tastes a lot sweeter and tastier. Is it the same with cauliflower?

Thanks! I don't leave cauliflower out in serious frosts because it seems much more sensitive to damage from freezing than broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprouts. Honestly, I haven't noticed a difference in the taste of any of them after frost. I grew brussel sprouts in the spring for the first time this year as an experiment because I knew they wouldn't be able to be "sweetened by frost" so I was just hoping they'd be edible. To my surprise, the plant I set out in early April is still producing and the sprouts tasted just as good all year as they do now!

kath