Cauliflowers For The Taking

It's harvesting time here and I wanted to show a few of the caulis that I have been taking home. They all did well this year and I could cut them often and take them home on a regular basis.

Here is how I grow them in the field. I use clothes pins to keep the leaves closed over the caulis--that is to preserve their whiteness. If sunlight gets on them, they will turn colour.


If I peel the leaves back you can see what´s inside.


All bundled-up and ready to be taken home.


If some of the leaves die and go yellow and begin to rot, then they must be removed before transporting.


Once home they get unpacked, blanched and frozen in....the ones that don´t get eaten right away, that is.


Caulis don´t really freeze-in especially well, but I like eating them in soups, stir-frys and stews, so that isn´t a big problem for me.

 

Hee hee hee Toni-- Gawn en treat yo´self rite, mama! :-D

 

Those are so big and wonderful.Steam them and pour cheese sauce over them they are just yummy.Now I'm hungry for them.
Great photos Sjoerd.

 

I've never grown Cauliflower Sjoerd, but I think I might try next year.

 

Sooooooo jealous! Brassicas struggle on our site, and nobody bothers to grow caulis. To be honest, hardly anyone bothers to grow brassicas at all, and it makes me cross that they don't do well for us as I loves them!!! I try every single year, and have never had a decent cauli. It looks like a beaut Sjoerd - hope you both enjoy it.

 

Sjoerd, Your prize Cauliflower puts the grocery store produce to shame!
Wow those look good. Now I'm also hungry for some... steamed with a bit of butter... Mmmm

 

Caulis

Sjoerd, I am amazed. We grew one just once to almost compare. Do you like pickled Cauliflower? Its reall good pickled with peppers, carrots, onions. I like it just steamed and eat it as it is.
BEAUTIFUL!
Also, thanks for the clue about closing the leaves with a clothespin.

 

Yummy! I love them steamed with a thick cheese-and-bacon sauce, and I could probably eat a whole one, at least a whole shop-bought one. Yours look the size of my head if not larger so I might have a slight problem there.

We've tried to grow them but the white butterfly larvae finished them off when we were away for a week-end.

 

Thanks GLENDA-- I see that you know how to prepare cauli in a tasty way. It sounds tasty to me too.

Good luck next year, NETTY-- I hope that you have good success. Just keep them covered with a good net so eggs can't be laid.

I was so unhappy to hear that the brassica situation there on your lottie was SO bad. What a shame. I guess it's probably a hydration thing then, primarily. You could make tyhe ground 'right', but watering them regularly is another thing with no water supply there. Oh, what a shame.
Those cauli's were indeed very tasty. I froze some of them, in and ate the rest.

Thanks KAY--hee hee hee.... what a nice thing to say. I like eating them with butter too. In fact I eat them many different ways--and like them ALL! hahaha

GROWINGPAINS--I haver never eaten caulif. pickled.
You are welcome for the tip. It is the result of improvising due to discolouration. chuckle...but it works for me.

DROOPY--A thick cheese and bacon sauce. mmmmmmmmm. I could go for that right now!
Yes these were quite large ones this year. I watered them by hand several times during the drought. I think that helped and also kept them from "shooting". I think that they were larger than your head...but once cooked, they're softish--so sure, you could eat a whole one. hahaha. Or die trying, eh?
About your butterfly larvae prob. All you have to do is cover the plants (with the proper type net) from the moment that you put them in the ground and that problem will be solved. Honest.

 

Good looking califlower, enjoyed the post. I am a fan of califlower & cheese sauce .

 

oh yum sjoerd! i love cauliflower too, cooked, raw, any ways. ours are still not ready to harvest.beautiful heads there sjoerd!

and i once again learned something from you...clothespins! what a clever way to tie the leaves up! i always struggle with twine or yarn or a tough weed to tie around them. next year it's clothespins for me!!!

 

I am delighted that you liked the posting, GAIL--I enjoy cauliflower very much and eat it in so many ways, like Bunkie.

Thanks for the head compliments, BUNKIE--Glad you liked the clothespeg idea. I used to just break the outer leaves and fold them over the heads. I have also tied them, but as the heads begin to swell it makes it difficult to have enough leaf to tie shut...but not to clip!

 

Those cauli's look terrific. I don't have much success with cauli's, but I do love eating them.

I love to look around our little community garden in Busselton, WA. It's been running about 5 years now, and I love to see what other people can grow. Your climate is so harsh, it's a wonder you have time to grow such great veggies in the little time available.

 

G'daai Debbie-T,

Good to see you on here again after such a long while. Hope you are doing fine.

Thanks for the commenting on the looks of my cauli's. I had a good run this year.

When you look around the Community Garden there in Busselton, I am curious to know what you see--I mean how it looks and what they grow...and of course the characters that are there.
It might be nice if you took some pictures and wrote a little posting on here showing and telling about it. I, for one, would be tremendously interested to see and read that!

As for the climate here--it changes...every year--new challenges. Gone are the days of orderly seasons that were more or less predictable.
I am also a bit surprized these days--surprized at how well I do, and surprized at how poorly I do with some things that ought to have been simple. Ach, but that's part of the charm of gardening, innit.
I think that I am able to grow, harvest and process the veg and fruit because the types are chosen are selected because they do well here. There are many sorts of many veg and fruit types, so I have to use the computer to to research plant types that are compatable with the growing seasons here.
Each year, I try- out new plants (veg AND flower) to see if they will "fit into my scheme" and our climatic situation here. I think that this variety and constant changing os the ground rules are two aspects of gardening that make it so attractive to me.

With spring right around the corner for you there, I hope that you will be writing about things there in your half of the world on here more frequently.