Kitchen Garden Forum

Some of our cauliflowers have no 'flowers' at all, they are just a lot of greenery without centre. What would have caused this? Early low temperatures? Early lack of water? I only grow a few plants every year because we are not dead keen on caulis (and I don't think they freeze well), but it's a shame when the few plants then don't come to anything!

They do need to be grown without any check to their growth Monika.
Right from the seedling stage never let them dry out. I would say its been the hot dry summer. I take it nothing has eaten the centre curd, birds, will take the young new growth.

Better luck next year.

Beryl.

Thanks, Beryl, I thought it must be the dry early summer. although we did sink bottomless plastic bottles upside down next to the plants and watered them directly to the roots. And no, I don't think anything ate the centre.

Hi Monika, I wonder if you cut the tips out if they might produce some side shoots with smaller curds ? Not sure if it would work but it might be worth a try.

Dear Nature's Babe, from what Monika said, i don't think there is any growing tip to cut.

Ah, maybe not OH, lol, I thought, leaf tips perhaps just the curd was missing.

You are right, OH, there was no centre at all, just leaves growing sideways from a sort of 'blunt platform'. I have been growing cauliflowers for nigh on 50 years, I think, and have never had such a high proportion of blind ones, although it has happened occasionally in the past. The variety was 'All the Year round' which I usually use.