Caulis advice

[mrgrower]

ADVICE Please

For years the old guys on our allotment have tried to grow Cauliflowers only for them to bolt a few days after getting a fair sized head on them. They state you can't grow Caulis on this allotment I want to prove them wrong last year I got a few good heads and was feeling smug until they suddenly blew so I asked what they had tried and they recon they have tried everything. But I recon one thing they didn't try was growing undercover. As we are South facing and live in Manchester one thing we are famous for is rain so |I thought maybe it's the rain then the sudden shock of scorching sun so after mistakenly planting caulies in my polytunnel I decided to leave them and see how they do.

I have given them a feed with blood fish and bone and ensured that the soil is as moist as I can keep it using bottles with holes in the top and a good soaking when I am there. I have also got some dolomite lime I'm thinking of adding to the soil ( Is that a good idea) as I know using it with toms helps prevent blossom end rot.

The vents are open on the poly are there any other ideas people have or things they do that has in their opinion helped prevent their caulis blowing?

I want to be the first to succeed where others have failed

MrG

[Bigmallly]

The one thing I have learned this year is that warm soil causes bolting in Brassicas so try and keep you soil cool.

[greenishfing]

For a few years I couldn't grow caulis and didn't know why. I was trying to grow a variety called all the year round (or something like that) They always bolted.

I gave up on them and tried various other varieties. I can't start them in the greenhouse (always kill them). Now I start them outdoors in the ground.
I grow a few varieties to give me caulis at different times of the year:Clapton, Maystar and a couple of other varieties whose names I can't remember. The only other difference is I get my husband to march around them a few times in his size 12s when I plant them to their final positions to firm them in.

[mrgrower]

I was worried about the temperature when I realised I had planted them in there but though what the heck they have tried growing them all over the site even one guy I believe who had been growing them all his life gave up after years of them bolting but as no one to my knowledge has tried at a constant sort of temperature I decided to leave them in and hope the don't bolt. so fingers crossed.

[Bigmallly]

Try some "All Year Round" over winter.

[kathycam]

I bought some cauliflower seedlings and the woman told me to make sure to water them lots when they are in flower, otherwise they will go to seed. I think the majority of the cauliflowers got eaten by slugs and I had to give up the plot due to moving house, so not really sure if it worked. I had a few on my first year, but could have been beginners luck!