In My Seed Box For 2024 - Cauliflower

  

The life expectancy of cauliflower seed if kept in ideal conditions is 5 - 8 years. The saved to sow by date on most packs is only 2 years, I found one pack that was 4 years, Thus seeds should be viable but with a reducing germination rate each year for an additional 3 - 5 years beyond what it says on the pack. 

My History with Cauliflower is somewhat hit and miss, early on I had some really fantastic results but over the past years not so good. In 2022 I managed to get two really great looking cauliflowers after losing a lot of seedlings to the heatwave. 

In my seed box for 2024 are. 

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2020

White Step F1    - Thompson & Morgan  - 30 Seeds - £3.49 - Sow By 2020
Winter Aalsmeer - Thompson & Morgan - 50 Seeds - £2.49 - Sow By 2020

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2021

All Year Round   - Thompson & Morgan - 150 Seeds - £2.49 - Sow By 2021

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2022

Amsterdam F1    - Mr Fothergill's            -  25 Seeds - £ Mag - Sow by 2022

Sunset F1           - Marshalls                   -  15 Seeds - £2.29 - Sow by 2022

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2023

Orkney F1          - D.T.Brown                   -  30 Seeds - £2.59 - Sow by 2023

Zaragoza F1      - Dobies                          - 20 Seeds - £3.49 - Saved year ending 2021

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2025

De Purple F1     - Mr Fothergills               - 15 Seeds - £3.45 Sow by Dec 2025 

Cheesy F1         - Johnsons                     - 50 Seeds - £2.00^ Sow by Dec 2025

Ameresco F1     - Suttons                        - 12 Seeds - £4.49 Sow By 2025

^ Bought in wilko 50% Seed Sale for £1

Review of Seed Stock with Sow by date of 2027

Fioretto               - Dobies                          - 10 Seeds - £3.99 - Saved year ending 2024

Sowing Times vary for each variety

                                Indoors      Outside     Plant Out     Harvest 
All Year Round    - Feb - May   Mar-Jun                        Jun - Sep 
Amsterdam F1    - Mar - May     June          June          Oct - Jan

De purple F1       - Feb - Mar   Mar-Jun                        Jun - Oct
Fioretto                -                   Mar - Jun                       Aug - Nov

Orkney F1           - Jan - Feb                       5 leaves     May - July

Orkney F1           - Sep - Oct                       5 leaves     May - July

Sunset F1           - Feb - Apr    Apr - May                       Aug - Oct 

White Step F1     -                    May - June                    Aug - Nov
Winter Aalsmeer -                    My - Mid Jun                  April

Sowing Plan

Jan - Orkney F1

Feb -  All Year Round

Feb - De Purple F1

Feb - Sunset F1

Feb - Zargoza F1  

Mar - Amsterdam F1

Mar - Andromeda 

Mar - Fioretto

Apr - All Year Round

May - Winter Aalsmeer         

In My Seed Box For 2024 - Index

Roast Dinner

 

I get a message early Sunday morning from Emma "Dad how would you like me to come over and do a roast Dinner today?" before I could answer Emma is on the phone and after some discussion and not wanting to miss an Emma cooked Roast I said yes as long as I can contribute, I have a Turkey joint and some potatoes from the allotment here. 

A turkey joint came out of the freezer, and after a call from Emma informing me, she was running a little late, I slammed it in the oven. 

The reason Emma was late was because she had visited my plot on the way and harvested another three Suttons De Purple Cauliflowers and two huge cabbages. We got some ready for Sunday Lunch and all but one of the Cauliflowers was processed for freezing along with the rest of the cabbage. 

It's so rewarding when you eat what you grow. I definitely need to be more on it in 2023 re parsnips and carrots. Next weekend harvesting the beetroots and processing them.     

A Quick Harvest

My daughter Emma popped into my allotment between rain showers late this afternoon and harvested some more Suttons Depurple Cauliflower and Cabbages.

Allotment Crew

I have not been down the allotment much in the last couple of weeks due to the wet weather and being unable to get some cover to look after my wife as both my daughters were away together on a sister's long weekend holiday. 

My daughter Emma said, "I'm on an early shift on Thursday how would you like to meet me down the allotment after work", my answer was obviously "Yes" and so she and my son-in-law Andy met me down the allotment at 3:45pm for about an hour and a half of harvesting, weeding, laying woodchips and clearing foliage and cutting up and feeding to the Daleks. 

It's amazing how much you can get done when there are three of you working at the same time. With the clocks going back and the days getting shorter the opportunity for such visits will soon vanish, until late spring/summer.  

This is one of the 12 Cauliflower Depurple postiplugs from Suttons that I received back in June. This particular one the leaves had grown over the Cauliflower to protect it. I have the Cauliflower Depurple seeds in my seed box and will be growing these again next year, but if they get wiped out by another heatwave, I will have no hesitation in ordering in Suttons postiplugs again.

The other 11 are not getting protected and wrapped up by the leaves and are not quite as large as the one I harvested for Emma who cooked and had it as part of her evening meal and enjoyed the taste so much she is keen to harvest some more this Sunday.

I really can't complain about the Suttons Runner Beans "Best Of All" grown this year they have been really prolific and the more I harvested them the more they gave. At the moment they are 14% off at £2.99 for 45 bean seeds.

With the weather changing it was time to harvest and then strip the foliage back off the cantilever frame and chop it up and add to the Daleks. My neighbour and I have enough in a freezer, so my daughter is taking this last lot to her work to share with fellow nursery nurses.

Cleared Cantilever Runner Bean frame and Grapevine beds weeded and filled with woodchip. I'm thinking of making pockets in the woodchip and filling with compost next year and planting French beans either side of the vines.

View up the grapevine beds after weed clearing and wood chipping.

The Cabbages have done so well this year, next year some red ones for Andy. I must harvest the labels and see which varieties they were as I did sow a few varieties this year. Once I find out I will update this blog post with links back to their web pages.