Soilman

The caulis are ready again, and all coming at once. It’s a problem: I have 15 cauliflowers stuffed in bags in the fridge.

What the hell to do with them? Can’t cook cauliflower cheese FIFTEEN times, and plain boiled is… boring.

Suggestions (of the non-Cordon Bleu variety) gratefully received!

Thick and fast now, thick and fast. It’s all going crazy.

We have Ratte potatoes, Orla potatoes, All-the-year-round cauliflowers, Early Nantes carrots, Bolthardy beetroot and Russian courgette/squash hybrids (don’t know what these are called in English, but they’re known as ‘Kobachok’ in Russian).

The missus and I are stuffed to the gills with veg every night.

The latest in my ‘how to’ video series focusses on brassicas… specifically cabbages and cauliflowers, and how to grow decent ones. As always, apologies to anyone who’s an expert already. Do tell me about any hot tips of your own for brassica success.

How to grow cabbages and cauliflowers from Soilman on Vimeo.

I know I’m getting boring about this. And coming across as an insufferable egomaniac. So this is the last bit of vainglory, I promise…

Look what I picked up on the way home from work!

A freshly picked cauliflower is a thing of beauty and gastronomic delight. They really do taste different fresh. Cauliflower cheese tonight…

The first cauliflower seedlings are in. This is where the hard work starts. Everything hitherto has been buggering about, frankly.

Why? Because if you’ve ever grown cauliflowers, you’ll know what utter bastards they are. Everything has to be just so: the soil, the sun hours, the rainfall, the nutrients, the pest and bird protection.

This fine specimen is wearing a brassica collar. It’s a circle of tar-impregnated cardboard intended to deter the ghastly cabbage root fly. They do work, but of course it’s an added pain in the arse.

Everything’s a pain in the arse with cauliflowers. So why do I do it? Excellent question. Let me think about than one for a few days and get back to you…

Love the look of these waxy, veined leaves. This is one of the enjoyable sights on the vegetable gardening winter scene.

It’s also the signal for me to wind down a bit – both on the allotment and on the blog. There’s not a lot to write about until Feb/March.

So I’ll turn up to rant from time to time. But mostly I’ll be hibernating until Spring, when I’ll surge back into feverish, panicky activity.

So until then, see you… sporadically.

Looks a bit scrappy, I know. Bloody weeds. They’re like gremlins: one drop of water and they double in size and turn seriously nasty.

These will be pretty big by the end of September, and with luck they’ll head in April. Cauliflowers all year round!

Biggest allotment cauliflower of the year… so far. About 25 more still to come, and I’m drowning in them. The freezer hasn’t seen so much action since last year’s bean glut.

Talking of which, the beans are also going bananas. Gotta love the glut after a poor start to the season, but I’m beginning to lose it here.