The Modern Victory Garden

Back from my week of motorcycling in the Midwest with Hubbie -- my dearneighbors kept everything watered -- gee, lots of blooming broccoli! 1) Broccoli: I think my raised bed is the only one really suited to it; the broccoli in what used to be the corn bed is just 'reaching' for the sky too quickly, it goes to bloom before there's even a head bigger than a aquarter. ?? Same story with the side shoots! 2) Cabbage -- ok, most of it is 'starting' to look like cabbage -- and this is a partial-shade garden: But, Laura, how do I know when it's 'done'?? So far, no new chewing, but..... And the real puzzlement: 3) Cauliflower! I harvested one very-large-softball-sized head before I left -- that was delicious -- and discovered four new ones that look good -- though small -- upon my return -- but the one that was there before, it looks WEIRD. Sad. I should pull it, it stayed in today when I upkeeped everything else just for the photo (I may have to make that my profile pic, can't[ figure out how to post the picture otherwise!) -- So my question is: How do I know when the cauliflower is as big as it's gonna get, in my garden? And....(oh this is soooo humbling).... At this point in the season, should I be fertilizing? And with what? I hate to sound like a TOTAL beginner (considering how long I've been growing OTHER things), but for brassicas, I've heard fish emulsion, I've heard...oh, what do you think?? I have so been waiting to ask you these things. Thank you ! And there's plums in it for ya again when they ripen! (Yes, plenty of those coming along!).

Well for more of those tasty plums... I will try to answer most any questions!   LOL!   Those really were delicious.  

I unfortunately am not going to be a good resource for you on your cauliflower as I never grow it (don't really like it personally and I never grow things I do not love to eat!).   However, I suspicion it is much the same as broccoli in that if the plant is stressed it will bolt to flowering and not produce very large heads.   With broccoli I watch the bud and when it begins to show signs of "loosening"  (i.e. the bud is not as tight and you can even just begin to see the first hint of yellow which is the flower starting to unfold) then it is time to harvest - regardless of the size.  Yes you should side dress fertilize broccoli (and probably cauliflower) just about the time that the very first small nubbins of a central head is visible.   I like to use a good organic fertilizer with a balanced NPK ratio.   When the plants are younger and developing a dense leaf growth - then I will use a fish emulsion tea as a drench to give them a shot of nitrogen (fast acting and reasonably dilute) to encourage good leaf production.   With cabbages, it's the same routine as for broccoli as far as fertilizing goes.  

Cabbages are ready to harvest literally anytime that you are ready to eat them!  But if you want a dense head you just need to wait until it is formed and sized up nicely before harvesting.   I have harvested all my cabbages recently so I don't have any in the garden to show you directly but if you go to my photo gallery there are some good cabbage picture in both 2009 and I believe 2008 as well. 

I probably missed some of your questions.  Maybe you could  just come visit me for a garden tour and visit and I can show you some things in my garden and try to answer questions for you in person?     

Oh my wouldn't that be a TREAT!!!  I would be thrilled, honored, to visit your place.  Hmmmm....email me what's good for you?  Sat/Sun not good for me ironically this week, company from out of town! 

Sent you an email!

I want to let you know the same thing was happening to me.  The local nursery said to stop using manure in the beds for brassicas.  Now I get big happy heads of everything.  Also, apparently not every cauliflower start forms a head.  There is some way to tell before you transplant, but I don't know what it is.