Cauliflower in the Heat

Bob Bauer

July 12, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

July 12, 2016

I can't believe that the cauliflower seeds I just planted are now large enough plants to transplant. Things grow really fast in this heat. I don't have half as many Brussels sprouts to transplant though, because one small slug worked it's way down the row, and ate a third of the plants in one night. I put a few drops of a product called Deadline out and killed the slug the next night. It's a very effective product but I really hate using it..

It's poisonous to humans and domestic animals so who knows what havoc is wreaked upon the floura and fauna of the soil inhabitants that have been eons in the balancing act. It's like the gypsophilate that was supposed to be so safe for humans that is now suspect in innumerable health and environmental problems. I still trust fish emulsion though, unless it comes from the waters off the coast of Fukushima..

July 13, 2016

I keep the cats from stepping on the Deadline by covering the row with a wire tunnel covered with bird netting. They are 5' long so are easy to move and putting them end to end covers the longest of rows. I use them on all my transplants because birds used to eat them down to the ground in one day..

Cats or no cats, I'm still covering all my transplants..

More from Efundies

Green Peas on Black Round Plate

PGIF (Peas Go in First) Spring Planting

(Peas Go In First) Spring planting is hearlded by the planting of the peas.

Gardening Resolutions

Im'a gonna get more exercise. I think we Grampa gardeners could all get on that bandwagon.

When the Ground is Frozen Stay Out of the Garden

I can get a pretty good soil amendment using only leaves and grass clippings but additional garbage makes for a sticky, chunky mess. You can get a bag of steer manure for $.

Remember What Peace There May Be In Silence

The fog has replaced the shadows, and gray is in the air. Dormancy abounds and the gardens life is muted.

I Had To Put My Mini Greenhouses Over the Swiss Chard

I Had To Put My Mini Greenhouses Over the Swiss Chard

Three Of My 10 Tadpoles Came Out Of Hiding Today

Three Of My 10 Tadpoles Came Out Of Hiding Today

I've Always Liked Bringing the Cauliflower In

That won't be the case anymore. Each of the four cauliflower heads that I just harvested had between 6 and 10 cabbage moth cattapillers hiding up inside.

Grow More Greenhouse Review 2018

I recently purchased an 8x12 EasyGrow Greenhouse from LittleGreenhouse.com. I chose the EasyGrow kit mostly because of cost.

There Is No Place For Antibacterial Hand Soap In the Garden

Why kill the bacteria before washing them off your hands. They have a job to do wherever they're going.

Another Warm Sunny Day and I Begin Thinking

I did the first batch of them on February 10th last year and struggled to keep them alive through innumerable freezes and relentless rain. Our last frosts we're on May 7th, May 18th, and I heard the wind turbine early on May 25th.

My Artichoke Plants Look Terrible

Yellow wilted leaves and green droopy ones. The soil is moist around them but they have not the will to live.

There Was Dirt Scattered Across the Shavings

The birds had been scratching in the Perpetual Spinach bed. At first I was annoyed but quickly realized that they were eating the leaf miner larvae that were overwintering in the soil.

I've Never Had Aphids Up In the Florets of Cauliflower

They got up into the tiniest crevasses and sucked the plants juices until they got too fat to get them out. I kept breaking the head into smaller and smaller pieces and spraying them with the hose until I got down to quarter inch florets with aphid still stuck inside.

I've Gotten Tired of Picking Broccolini

It's not crop rotation because cruciferous plants should not be planted in the same spot for two years. My rows get an 18" wide by 2" thick covering of fine compost three to four times a year so the soil I'm planting in is always changing.

Photo of Pathway Surrounded By Fir Trees

I Got a Bag of Fir Shavings

It smells nice too.

I Still Haven't Gotten My Onion Sets Planted

All of our local suppliers don't have any. They think there was a crop failure, and I immediately think global warming.

Yesterday I Discovered Baby Carrots Growing In the Shade

I had planted them in early spring and thought the slugs had gotten them. I forgot about them and some germinated, grew a bit, and then went dormant due to the lack of sunlight.

Merry Christmas Gardeners

I got three cloches and two pop up mini greenhouses. I can extend my gardening earlier in the spring and later into the fall.

Lettuce and Zucchini

The lettuce are getting dappled sunlight, not complete shade , so they can continue to photosynthesize. They also enjoy the extra humidity when I sprinkle water on the stalks.

Hands on a Pile of Dirt

I Keep Hauling My Garden Trimmings

It's much easier to trudge through the mud with the cart than try to burn wet sticks in the rain.

Leggy Veggie Starts

Sometimes I intentionally "test" one theory against another, and sometimes nature forces that test on me.

January is time to Start Seeds

I had to wear my rubber boots to check the trap in the garden. It was buried.

Perpetual Spinach

It was 10' tall so I trimmed it way back to 5' because I don't want more shade. It couldn't be in a better spot though because it's close to the eastern fence in an area of ornamental plantings.

I Made a Funny Discovery Today

With a week of rainy weather forecasted I would be wise to postpone my traditional April 15th planting of corn. I planted it on March 20th last year in my over abundant optimism at being re zoned at 8b, and had 10 frost nights all the way up to May 20th in which they required covering.

My Discomfort With The Scattered Around Swiss Chard

With every rain squall that causes me to take refuge in the greenhouse, a bunch of sparrows decend upon them, eagerly ripping at the leaves in haste because they know I'll be back shortly. They must wait in the surrounding grape and blackberry vines for me to disappear.

Whelp I Did It Again - Rigged Up My Shade Cloth

Rigged up my shade cloth and got a huge chunk of ground cleared. I was glad I had watered it the day before because it took only about 15 min.

Artichokes are a fun and easy to grow plant.

The Artichokes That I Divided Are Growing Already.

The leaves are spreading out and the plants are getting taller.

The Double Row of Beets

The answer is yes, but I couldn't find it. It may have gotten too brittle from all the sun exposure and I didn't save it.

Forest and Stream in Winter

I Don't Know Why Weeding

Winter gardening can be an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Photography of Leafless Tree Surrounded by Snow

My Youngest Son Got a Pop up Greenhouse

He doesn't want to 'pop it up' until snow is out of the forecast because he doesn't want to start his flower seeds in an igloo.

Well the Frost Was On the Pumpkin

It seems early, but with 70°days in the extended forecast, maybe I'll get my Indian Summer after all. I don't actually have any pumpkin again this year.

Who wouldn't want to sit in this bench, surrounded by tulips.

Gardening

Gardening is a perfect hobby for automation. You can automate your watering, heating, fans, and temperature sensors.

December is Time to Think About Next Years Seeds

One of the first things you learn about gardening is the importance of crop rotation, and you will try to follow it, and be destined to failure. I never have enough room to rotate effectively nor do I think it's required in small backyard gardens.

Planting Onions and Garlic

The planting diagram on the package showed you should make the holes 5"deep and 4" wide. The planting instructions said to plant them "only deep enough so that the tops of sets are covered with soil".

We Can Go Ahead And Plant Beets, Carrots, Green Onions, And Lettuce

I'll probably plant it April 15th like I used to do before our zone change. I'm going to slide everything back because climate change is causing unpredictable weather.

I'm Delighted To Have A Coyote Patrolling The Garden

Every garden invader is at risk now. Mice, gophers, rats, possums, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels are all prey, so I should be having fewer invasions.

No Gardening Got Done On Christmas Day

Once you get out of the house and start moving around lots of things will dispel your cabin fever. Being cold makes you want to go back in but a fire keeps you entertained.

Had a Prankster Visit the Garden Last Night

I found the zip lock bag that I keep my bar soap in shredded. Half the bar is missing and what's left is full of teeth marks.

The Garlic and Onion Sets Are Already Coming Up

I'll move my mini greenhouses over them when the weather turns cold and see if we can't have chard all winter again like last year. It's been such a warm November that all the cauliflower came to head and the two rows of transplanted Brussels sprouts are forming sprouts.

I Got A Row Of Peas Planted

The puppy's name is Anny, and my garden may never be the same. She thoroughly enjoyed running up and down the bird netted trellis, barking and biting at it.