Friday, April 27, 2012

Cauliflower Spring

This spring in the Pacific Northwest was the wettest and coldest that I remember.  Of course I say that every year.  But this time I mean it. Usually we get a February two week respite that includes much sun, warming temperatures and workable soil.  Of course the real rain hasn't started yet so of course the soil is workable.

And then the rain begins.  We received hardly any rain during the winter months. It was a bit snowier and colder than usual. We had below freezing temperatures for at least a month of the winter.  So I thought the only thing that would survive in the garden would be the carrots. The winter cabbages and winter cauliflower were growing, but producing nothing. So I just let them grow thinking I would pull them up when the warmer weather was here.

March Cauliflower
The first of March brought a couple of days of sun and I thought I would go work in the strawberries just to get outside. And to my surprise there beautiful and white was the most beautiful and bug free head of cauliflower I have ever seen. I have since harvested seven beautiful heads of bug free cauliflower. Next year I plan to grow them the same. Plant in October and harvest in spring. No cabbage moths, no aphids. What a great surprise!