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Post by mskrieger on Nov 9, 2015 13:26:22 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to crow...some 'Symphony' cauliflower that I planted waaaayyyy too late and gave up for lost roundabout 1 October managed to produce heads. Yesterday. Somehow the darn things did it, even with less than 10 hours sunlight/day. Admittedly, the heads are smallish and mildly infested with black aphids (all the ladybugs have gone to sleep for the winter, sensibly, while the aphids persist) but there are heads!
Cauliflower, I salute you. And next year I'm a gonna plant you at least 4 weeks earlier.
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Post by raymondo on Nov 9, 2015 15:56:44 GMT -5
Such surprises are always a welcome delight. I'm mildly jealous as cauliflower is something I've never successfully grown.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Nov 9, 2015 19:28:43 GMT -5
Me too. Last time I tried the rabbits devoured it, apparently it's the only thing they love more than bindweed.
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Post by mskrieger on Nov 16, 2015 13:24:22 GMT -5
Yeah, I always heard cauliflower was picky and never tried it until I saw some lady buying flats of seedlings at the grocery store and she claimed it always produced well for her. Apparently it likes the sandyish soil around here, as long as you lime it some.
We had a plague of bunnies (one of the reasons I planted cauliflower late, in addition to trying to shield it from the worst of the July heat) but my cat seems to have it all under control. Kept finding bunny corpses strewn about the cauliflower patch. Good kitty.
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Post by richardw on Nov 16, 2015 13:57:29 GMT -5
Good kitty alright. I had a pair of rabbits that failed for a few years to raise young,these never saw adulthood thanks for our three cats, would be great if they could clean out all the blackbirds too. I'm the same as raymondo & keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) i dont have a lot of luck with cauliflowers as they tend to get heavily infected with white butterfly |
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Post by mskrieger on Mar 29, 2016 12:57:09 GMT -5
Planning this year's garden and just saw your comment, richardw . Yes, there was serious handpicking of white butterfly caterpillars last year (I did about twice a week in the cauliflower patch at certain points of the season.) I've noticed that flowering dill attracts predatory wasps and they carry off any caterpillars they find in the vicinity. So I'm going to try planting dill among the brassicas this year and see if it lessens the caterpillar pressure.... |
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Post by philagardener on Mar 29, 2016 19:10:40 GMT -5
I've had great luck with wasps clearing the cabbage white caterpillars from my brassicas! That's the way to go!
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Post by eastex on Mar 29, 2016 19:15:37 GMT -5
Planning this year's garden and just saw your comment, richardw . Yes, there was serious handpicking of white butterfly caterpillars last year (I did about twice a week in the cauliflower patch at certain points of the season.) I've noticed that flowering dill attracts predatory wasps and they carry off any caterpillars they find in the vicinity. So I'm going to try planting dill among the brassicas this year and see if it lessens the caterpillar pressure.... Take a big leaf from your cauliflower or a cabbage and lay it over your cauliflower in the evening. In the morning, go out and lift the leaf off. For some reason, the caterpillars always seem to flock to that leaf and you can get rid of them easier. |
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Post by richardw on Mar 30, 2016 13:15:38 GMT -5
I've noticed that flowering dill attracts predatory wasps and they carry off any caterpillars they find in the vicinity. Thats something that ive noticed this summer is that the leaves on my daubenton and perennial cabbage have no large white butterfly caterpillars, only seeing very small ones meaning holes in the leaves are small also, i never thought that maybe predatory wasps could be carrying away the caterpillars, highly possible as there's a lot of predatory native wasps about. |
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Post by diane on Mar 30, 2016 13:23:14 GMT -5
I can't remember ever seeing my dill flower, but now I realize it is because I choose the kinds that produce lots of leaves, and I guess I eat them all before any of the plants flower. I guess I'll have to buy some seeds of the ones that pickle-makers want because they do flower quickly.
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Post by steev on Mar 30, 2016 18:49:13 GMT -5
Wasps are excellent predators; I once was watching some working some bean plants, when one found a caterpillar too large for it to lift; it waited until another came along, then they cut the caterpillar in half and each flew off fully laden.
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