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DELIVERY INFO: If you order spring plants today we expect to ship from mid-May onwards. - See FAQs for more info.
Romanesco Cauliflower
(10 Plug Plants)
Grow well in raised beds
Organic plug plants
Plant from spring to early autumn
Estimated delivery from mid-May
£5.99
A weirdly beautiful cauliflower to grow
These plants will produce jade green spears which are beautiful and intriguing to look at. They are also delicious to eat! They taste like a mixture between broccoli and cauliflower and can be cooked in much the same way. As with all brassica plants, these are best grown in beds and will need good protection from pigeons and other pests. You’ll receive a full growing guide with your plug plants, so just follow the advice and you’ll find it easy to grow your own romanesco cauliflower.
Number of plants: 10 plug plants
Variety: Romanesco (organic*)
In the kitchen: Perfect for roasting, steaming, deep frying in batter, or even raw in your salads!
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[blogtitle] => Let's get you growing cauliflowers...
[blogintro] => As part of the brassica family, cauliflower and romanesco have a few little growing quirks that you can learn about through the articles below.
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[post_date] => 2024-03-21 15:36:42
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[post_content] => One of the classic gardening errors when growing cauliflowers and cabbages lies in letting the soil get too warm for them. They really prefer cooler temperatures, which isn't normally hard in the UK, but even just a week or two of hotter days can cause the plants stress.
What happens when the plants get too hot?
With too much heat, the plants tend not to form healthy hearts - instead of producing a firm, round cabbage head the cabbages will remain loose leaved, and instead of producing a tight cauliflower, the cauliflower plant may produce broccoli-like sprouting florets instead, if at all.
How hot is too hot?
Once temperatures start to creep above 18c or 19c and into the 20s for longer than a few days, cabbages and cauliflowers will start to notice.
How can I keep them cool?
There are several ways you can help, and you may choose to do a combination of the below, especially if you live in a drier part of the country where heatwaves are a little more common.
Plant them in a slightly shaded spot
Although the plants do need some sun, they don't need it all day long. 5 to 6 hours of full sun should be adequate, and this can be early in the morning or in the late afternoons. Having the partial shade or a few hours of more full shade will help to prevent the soil from getting too hot. As long as the soil remains reasonably cool, the plants will be able to tolerate the higher air temperatures.
Dig in plenty of compost when planting
This will just help the soil consistency and improve moisture retention a little. Be sure to firm them in really well once you have planted them though, as this will also help them establish a stronger root system and prevent the plants from rocking in the wind etc (which can be another cause of not producing cabbage heads or cauliflowers.
Mulch well around the base of plants
This is another excellent way of keeping the soil cool and if you use compost as a mulch then it will help to provide nutrients too so it's a double win. All you need to do is spread a thick layer of compost (or other organic matter, but we really favour compost) in between the plants, particularly around the base of the stem.
Water thoroughly in the mornings
During dry spells, make sure the plants get plenty of water early in the morning that can be soaked down into the soil. The moisture will help to keep the soil temperature down a little as the day warms up.
[post_title] => Cool is best for Cabbages and Cauliflowers
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[post_content] => Brassicas, like kale, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, have the ability to frustrate the novice gardener but they are good growers once you get the basics right.
Brassicas (veg plants from the mustard family, which include cabbages, kales, cauliflower and broccoli) need a little extra attention when they are planted out to keep them protected from pests. If you get it right at this stage, you'll be much more likely to get a fab crop. If you don't, then you'll be most likely to experience at least one of the three most common problems: Cabbage root fly, caterpillars or pigeons. Trust us, it doesn't take long to put up these two simple defences and it's well worth doing.
[post_title] => How to grow successful brassicas
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[post_content] => This is the first time I've grown cauliflower. I'm not a huge cauliflower fan, and usually one or two meals a year with cauliflower cheese suffice, but I wanted to try growing a few new things this summer so chose to add them to my plot.
They don't seem to be doing as well as my other brassicas - they were planted at the same time, on 2nd May, and are in the same bed and protected well from cabbage white butterflies and pigeons. However, they have been growing very slowly, and nearly 2 months on I am still not seeing any evidence of hearts forming, so I'm not feeling confident. I think I didn't firm them in enough and I think that is where the problem lies. I was planting out a lot of seedlings on that day and ran out of oomph towards the end. I vaguely remember being a bit haphazard when it came to the cauliflowers, which were the last of the brassicas to go in. I think I will have to just wait and see - I'm hoping they will get there, and we have a few months to go before winter so there is still time! I'm going to take a leap of faith, apply a liquid feed, tread down the soil a bit to firm them in and hope for the best.
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Let's get you growing cauliflowers...
As part of the brassica family, cauliflower and romanesco have a few little growing quirks that you can learn about through the articles below.
One of the classic gardening errors when growing cauliflowers and cabbages lies in letting the soil get too warm for them. They really prefer cooler temperatures, which isn’t normally hard...
Brassicas, like kale, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, have the ability to frustrate the novice gardener but they are good growers once you get the basics right. Brassicas (veg plants from...
This is the first time I’ve grown cauliflower. I’m not a huge cauliflower fan, and usually one or two meals a year with cauliflower cheese suffice, but I wanted to...
This is the 1st time I’ve used you for plug plants, I’d like to say how thrilled I am with my order all my plants are superb!
H.L
“”
Thank you for the magnificent array of plants which arrived safely yesterday. Can’t wait to get them planted (and to eat the end result!) I’m impressed by the excellent condition they arrived in.
Hilary Sawyer, Whitney
“”
Just received the order of plug plants – best quality I have ever had. Will plant them at the weekend and look forward to cropping them.
