What Cauliflower?

[Westi]

Watched the Great British Food Revival on TV and they showed some fab looking caulis with really good folliage cover over the curds. It was a comercial crop but was wondering what type they might be. Despite buying those with the description of good cover they are not particularly great and secondly no where as tall as these - they seem wider rather than taller that I end up with.

Any ideas anyone??

Thanks Westi

[alan refail]

Hi Westi

Here's Rose Prince's comment on the programme in yesterday's Telegraph:

Curse of the cauliflower

In The Great British Food Revival, a new series that aims to save our heritage foods, the increasingly camp Hairy Bikers stood in a field and unconvincingly made the case for the cauliflower. I agree that there are foods to take on the Ark: I’d argue for garden peas, brown crab and a dairy cow. But not the cauliflower, an armchair of useless green leaves hiding a buried knobbly, whoopee cushion, unpalatable without a drench of cheese sauce. The Lincolnshire farmers are always digging unwanted caulis into the ground, the biker boys informed us, shaking their heads sadly, and somewhat insincerely. There is a very good reason for that, and they know it.

[Johnboy]

Hi Alan,
I don't know that I would go as far as Rose Prince but I certainly do not grow Cauliflowers any longer. On an allotment where space is at a premium I would suggest that they are a waste of space. Having said that I grow Broccoli in any shape or form instead. With Broccoli you are at least assured of a crop and they take up the same space but give many more meals than a Cauliflower and are nowhere near as temperamental. I can grow Broccoli in succession almost the entire year round with the now available summer varieties.
If I have a yen for a Cauliflower I buy one in and then a very small one.
I have grown some whoppers in my time but somehow to me they are yesterday's vegetable and are too temperamental by half.

[John]

I no longer caulis either. Mainly because they take up a lot of room for quite a long time but also because, like London buses, they all come along at once. The surplus is not easy to deal with - freezing is time consuming and the thawed product is not very appetising. Brocoli is a much better bet as it can be picked over a period of time and there are many varieties available now so that with a bit of planning you can have it available at most times of the year.
I think that it's one crop that is best left to the commercial growers.

John

[PLUMPUDDING]

Mayflower is a nice flavoured fast growing cauliflower from Marshalls seeds, I've always found it reliable. Graffiti is a medium sized good quality purple one for Autumn.

I wouldn't bother growing the huge over- wintering ones though as they take up a lot of space for almost a year and then are so large they would feed about 10 families.

If you have plenty of space, the hardy over-wintering one I've grown is Winter Walcheren and it is very hardy and well covered with tight leaves.

[Westi]

Thanks - I will definately try the winter one. I've been pretty lucky with them all round just disappointed I aways have to break leaves off to cover the curd, then it turns out into a battle with slugs and snails sneaking under the loose leaves.

Do you suppose it is the distance apart they plant them that makes the outer leaves reach up instead of out? Maybe I'm too generous with the speacing?

Westi