Cauliflowers for eating and Exhibiting, David Metcalfe FNVS, Northern Branch.

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1 Cauliflowers for eating and Exhibiting, David Metcalfe FNVS, Northern Branch. Many good vegetables have been grown on my allotment over the last 40 years or so. The soil is predominantly clay, blended with many years of rotted manure, compost, peat, straw, sand, and lots of elbow grease. Most of my successes on the show bench and in the kitchen have been achieved by growing on raised beds. They warm up quickly in spring and drain well during wet periods which we get plenty of here in east Lancs. During late 2010 I decided to grow two rows of pot leeks on raised beds which had been unused since I started growing my blanch leeks in tubs. Later I would change my mind and grow cauliflowers. The beds are approx. 30inch tall over a rich subsoil drained with perforated pipe and contained with corrugated tin sheet. I started by removing the top spit by two spits wide, removing the weeds as I went down the 20ft long row (my soil grows excellent weeds).the bottom spit was loosened up with the fork and lots of strawy waste and stable manure incorporated.then a good 8inch layer of deep litter chicken manure from my friends chicken shed was placed in the trench. As the top spit went back into the trench some of the soil was worked into the litter, which, having been stacked for two years was semirotted. The tops of the trenches were then given a good liming and left to over winter.

2 It became clear that during the spring of 2011 that I would not have the time to repair the structure around this leek bed so I decided to grow cauliflowers instead. A packet of Medwyns seed Cornell F1 was sown on 7 th of May in the cold greenhouse. A good rate of germination was noted after about 10 days. The seedlings were pricked out a week later into my potting compost which I use for all of my show veg, the recipe being, 1 bag 70ltrs Irish moss peat multi-purpose compost. 30ltrs steam sterilised soil. 1 bag of Chempack potting mix. 8oz slow release fertiliser. The seedlings were pricked out into 9cm square pots and placed under an enviromesh tent in the polytunnel to protect against root fly and scorch, until large enough to plant, after about 3 wks. During this time the beds were ph tested with hand held probes. The beds were then given a dressing of 8oz Vitax Q4 HN and 4oz Dolomite lime to the yd. run. I like to use dolomite lime as it contains magnesium and holds up the ph for a longer period.cauliflowers like a high ph around the roots as it deters club root. I then apply what I call my magic for success onto the top of the bed. This is nothing more than a layer of straw about 8inch deep.a whole bale is loosened up and spread over the 20ft bed, this would be done just before rain so that it does not blow off in the wind. This system is applied to most of my other veg. The advantages are, 1) Holding moisture in the bed. 2) Weed suppression. 3) Pigeon deterrent. 4) Root-fly deterrent. The top of the straw can be re-used at the end of the season or dug into a trench. The semi-rotted straw would be dug into the top. The 1 st row of 8 plants was put into the bed during mid June and the next 8 planted about 10 days later. This method of spacing out the planting times from the same seed setting ensures that each row matures about 1week apart rather than all maturing together. The straw is simply parted to allow a planting hole to be made in the soil and then a large pinch of Dolomite lime applied around the hole before planting each plant at 30inch apart. The plants are firmed in and the straw drawn up around them which gives them some early support and stops the root fly from getting down to lay its eggs. As the plants grow they need increasing amounts of water especially during hot weather, any light rain only keeps the straw wet. During the last month of growth maybe, watering could be every 2/3 days. Keeping them thirsty could result in smaller curds. When the centre leaves

3 of the plant start to bunch up and spiral around the curd is forming and will be approx. 2 weeks from maturity. The leaves are then tied at the top to prevent light from entering, which keeps the curds white. Breaking leaves over the curd does not do the same job. Each leaf is a food factory and this practice may result in a poor shaped and dull curd. When growing caulis for exhibiting its (sods law) that curds will mature 2/3 days before a show or 2/3 days after. The late ones should be admired as show specimens, then steamed and enjoyed with a cheese sauce. The early ones may be lifted and leaves cut within 2/3inch from the curd and the roots cut off unless the schedule says otherwise. The whole of the plant can then be wrapped in cling film and stored somewhere dark and cool until show day. Last year, 2011, by the third week of August I had top quality curds which were fully 9inch across but, (sods law again) no show that weekend. The next lot looked just right for the N.V.S. championships at Llangollen, the week after. Then the weather turned sour! Knowing that the growth would be slower I cut two curds at 8inches across on the Wednesday before the show and cling film wrapped them, hoping that the others would catch up. On the day before the show I cut two fresh curds at 7 ½ inch across, knowing that I had two more at 7inch. I needed three for the class, what a gamble! Knowing that most vegetables increase in length or girth during the nightime I decided to have an early night and collect the other two curds on the way to Llangollen. At 2-30am on the morning of the show I found myself on my allotment in the cars headlights cutting the two remaining cauliflowers. Am I mad? I thought, and hoping that the police would not be called! However, my efforts paid off because when I arrived at the showground and cut the leaves to expose the curds, I had four cauliflowers the same size. Three of these were placed on the table at the end of eleven other exhibitors, covered with a dark cloth and left for the judge (fingers crossed) and hoping for a ticket. Any ticket won at the N.V.S. championships is an achievement for any exhibitor.

4 When I entered the show at opening time, the first thing that caught my eye was the winning set of five large exhibition onions displayed by Vince Throup.

5 Well worthy of best in show award. I then turned to look at the cauliflower class, lots of top names on the award cards and then I looked to the end of the row where my set was and to my amazement the red card was on them. The cauliflower is known as the queen of the vegetable garden and requires all the best food and pampering a queen should have. We do not have to show the vegetables that we grow, but by growing as if for exhibition we will always get the best out of them. Good growing.

6 David Metcalfe Cauliflowers grown on raised on in pots prior to being planted out bed method Young cauliflower plants grown