Working on next years garden plan

[digitS']

Cauliflower & broccoli are very similar plants. You should be able to situate and care for them is the same way.

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." ~ Mark Twain

I think that if I was to take 1 out of that family for ease of growing . . . I'd go for kale. It must be the cultivar with and needing the least culture .

Cauliflower has to go thru the same season as broccoli and survive all the problems. Then, it won't just develop the usual flower buds of the family but has to create something quite different. Things can go wrong . . . and, have for me. I decided that staying with broccoli, cabbage, kale and a few Asians in the family was safest.

About those broccoli buds -- they will go ahead and flower. You should be able harvest seed pods off them near the end of your season. I've done it without much trouble for their cousins: mustard, radish and bok choy.

Steve

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well, I would really like to have kale, but, unfortunately, the kids won't eat it, hubs can't eat it (he has blood clots and kale is too high in Vitamin K for him to eat) so I would end up with less kale than if I were to grow cauliflower... which I loooooove and so does everyone else. ;-)

 

[digitS']

Go with what will be eaten and enjoyed.

There are lots of veggies -- If you can't grow or don't like one, there's probably 3 or 4 others.

As far as kale is concerned. I like it but, maybe not every day. However:

! Eat More Kale (click) !

Steve

 

[nachoqtpie]

I Chick-fil-a!! It's one of the few places that our family will eat fast food.

 

[vfem]

I won't start my plans until at least January... too busy with business stuff with my day job and my personal business to think garden. So weird, I am looking forward to January!

But I am so glad to see a thread started on it... so now its stuck in my head! HAHAHAHA

 

[nachoqtpie]

Ha!! Sorry about that vfem!! ;-)
I get to start seeds in about a month... so I'm SUPER excited!! WOOOO!! Then in 2 months, I get to start actually SOWING seeds!! Holy moly I didn't think it was possible for seeds to start growing in FEB!!
It was really nice here yesterday tho, it the low 70s! We went out and worked in the garden a bit. we're trying to shred enough paper so we can put some down after our plants pop up to help keep moisture in, and help with weed control, and I'm thinking about trying to put some on the pathways and cover with straw, not sure yet. We were thinking about cover for the pathways. Pea gravel is a bit expensive and we would need quite a bit, and it would eventually hurt my feet (I usually garden barefoot). Then we thought about mulch and I decided that I didn't want splinters.. So, I'm not really sure what we're going to do!

 

[lesa]

Were you planning on starting the seeds indoors? I would really recommend starting them outside in a cold frame. The transition from inside to out, is a tough one. I have promised myself I will never try to grow cauliflower again! It has been a failure for me every time I try it!! Not to discourage you- if you love it, you might as well try it! Other family members may be surprised how delicious broccoli is right out of the garden. It really has a completely different taste!

 

[vfem]

I plant my spinach in February along with lettuce, bok choy and more carrots... well, right out in the garden anyways!

I'll start my tomatoes & peppers in the house right about then as well.

 

[lesa]

Good point, vfem- I bet those broccoli seeds could be planted right in the ground, in your neck of the woods!

 

[nachoqtpie]

Oh no.. the only things I'll be starting indoors are eggplant, tomato, and peppers. ;-)

I'm about 2 hours southeast of vfem, so we have about the same timeline for planting. This year we'll get them started earlier than a few weeks before I want them in the ground... haha