I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this season but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T

The message
from "John Towill" contains these words:

I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this season but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T


Are you sure they're not spring-heading cauliflowers? Some types sit in
the ground for almost a year and then quite rapidly produce large
cauliflowers in about May.
With purple sprouting broccoli, the earliest types produce in the new
year and some types go through to about April. They are basically an
excellent winter/spring vegetable.

Janet G

"John Towill" wrote in message
...
I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this season
but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple
sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T

Sorry, no answers, but I have a similar problem with my Brussels sprouts -
some are _blown_ with sprouts like flowers, and others with no sprouts at
all.

--
Chris Webb

'John',

Hopefully you can identify what has gone wrong from this site:

http://tinyurl.com/2463

Regards,
Emrys Davies






"John Towill" wrote in message
...
I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are
no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this
season but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple
sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now?
If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T

"Chris wrote in message ...
...
I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this season
but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple
sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If
so
again what is my error?

Sorry, no answers, but I have a similar problem with my Brussels sprouts -
some are _blown_ with sprouts like flowers, and others with no sprouts at
all.

Yes , we have suffered with this problem for the first time this year, our
Trafalgar sprouts have blown badly but the Icarus seem to be mostly OK. We
have put it down to the very dry summer weather this year.

To answer the original post, like others I think you may have planted spring
cropping varieties.
We plant spring cropping caulies because they grow "clean" over the winter
with little insect etc damage and with no need for any sprays etc., at the
moment they are quite large plants but they won't heart up until April (you
can tell when the leaves start to twist round each other).
Same timing with the broccoli, and the Winter Tundra cabbage and Savoys are
only just starting to make hearts now.

--
Bob
http://www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an allotment site
in Runnymede, fighting for its existence against bureaucracy.

In article , Chris Webb
writes
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple
sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T

Sorry, no answers, but I have a similar problem with my Brussels sprouts -
some are _blown_ with sprouts like flowers, and others with no sprouts at
all.

We had an almost total failure with purple sprouting broccoli this year,
yet all our other brassicas, including sprouts have done very well. I
think that the unusual weather patterns have upset some plant varieties,
especially those which are sensitive to planting times. Yet our
perpetual spinach (leafbeet) is robust and productive, and that can be
very touchy about sowing date. There's nowt so odd as plants!
--
Alan & Joan Gould, North Lincs.

On Mon, 21 Oct 2002 17:45:03 +0100, Janet Galpin and Oliver Patterson
wrote:

The message
from "John Towill" contains these words:

I have some very healthy (and large) cauli plants, however there are no
signs of curds. What is my error, I know it is too late for this season but
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T


Are you sure they're not spring-heading cauliflowers? Some types sit in
the ground for almost a year and then quite rapidly produce large
cauliflowers in about May.
With purple sprouting broccoli, the earliest types produce in the new
year and some types go through to about April. They are basically an
excellent winter/spring vegetable.

Janet G

I had never grown purple sprouting broccoli (or any other brassicas)
before this year. I got a three-way mix of seeds from DT Brown's,which
are supposed to have some each of early, mid- and late-cropping
varieties. I can't remember specific names of varieties, if they were
given. I sowed about the time it said on the packet, managed to
transplant some (late) but others had to be left where they had been
sown. I have had sprouts off some plants over the last few weeks, one
in the seed-row, others transplanted.

I have also seen purple sprouting broccoli for sale in my nearest
Sainsbury's.

Perhaps there are some ultra-early varieties?

VivienB

On Mon, 21 Oct 2002 19:00:02 +0100, Alan Gould
wrote:

In article , Chris Webb
writes
what should I do next year? I also have some very healthy purple
sprouting
broccoli, but no purple sprouts. Should they have appeared by now? If so
again what is my error?
TIA
John T

Sorry, no answers, but I have a similar problem with my Brussels sprouts -
some are _blown_ with sprouts like flowers, and others with no sprouts at
all.

We had an almost total failure with purple sprouting broccoli this year,
yet all our other brassicas, including sprouts have done very well. I
think that the unusual weather patterns have upset some plant varieties,
especially those which are sensitive to planting times. Yet our
perpetual spinach (leafbeet) is robust and productive, and that can be
very touchy about sowing date. There's nowt so odd as plants!
.................................................. .....

Many moons ago, as a young man, someone told me that
the secret of firm sprouts was firm soil. I always followed the
advice and was reasonably satisfied - on occasion even
delighted - with the quality. Also, when the ground was cleared
of the crop, I used a spade to good effect, and limed the soil.

Despite being considered an eccentricity, it also works to
chat to your crops , even- occasionally - to threaten them.
Charles knows what he's talking about. If it's good enough
for him, then it's good enough for the rest of us.
.................................................. ...........................................

In article , Serendipity
writes

Many moons ago, as a young man, someone told me that
the secret of firm sprouts was firm soil. I always followed the
advice and was reasonably satisfied - on occasion even
delighted - with the quality.
Excellent advice, and it applies to all brassicas where firm hearting is
required. The soil should be cultivated first, then firmed in the seed
bed before planting out. The same applies to onions.
Also, when the ground was cleared
of the crop, I used a spade to good effect, and limed the soil.

We're fortunate enough to be over limestone, so we don't need to lime,
but any vegetable area should be well limed to keep the soil and the
plants healthy. It helps to prevent brassica club root to some extent.

Despite being considered an eccentricity, it also works to
chat to your crops , even- occasionally - to threaten them.
Agreed! I don't actually speak to plants, but they respond to thought
transference if they are given a chance to. I don't threaten them
either, but Joan and I have noticed that if we talk about an
unsatisfactory plant in its presence, it will often respond in the way
we wish it to. There's no scientific or logical explanation for this
effect but it has happened in our garden too often for co-incidence.
--
Alan & Joan Gould, North Lincs.

"Alan wrote in message
..

Despite being considered an eccentricity, it also works to
chat to your crops , even- occasionally - to threaten them.
Agreed! I don't actually speak to plants, but they respond to thought
transference if they are given a chance to. I don't threaten them
either, but Joan and I have noticed that if we talk about an
unsatisfactory plant in its presence, it will often respond in the way
we wish it to. There's no scientific or logical explanation for this
effect but it has happened in our garden too often for co-incidence.

How many times have I said to Sue "that useless plant just has to go" and a
week later it's flowering etc.,

--
Bob
http://www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an allotment site
in Runnymede, fighting for its existence against bureaucracy.

In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes
Agreed! I don't actually speak to plants, but they respond to thought
transference if they are given a chance to. I don't threaten them
either, but Joan and I have noticed that if we talk about an
unsatisfactory plant in its presence, it will often respond in the way
we wish it to. There's no scientific or logical explanation for this
effect but it has happened in our garden too often for co-incidence.


How many times have I said to Sue "that useless plant just has to go" and a
week later it's flowering etc.,

Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing I meant.
--
Alan & Joan Gould, North Lincs.

On Tue, 22 Oct 2002 12:04:51 +0100, "Sue & Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Alan wrote in message
.

Despite being considered an eccentricity, it also works to
chat to your crops , even- occasionally - to threaten them.
Agreed! I don't actually speak to plants, but they respond to thought
transference if they are given a chance to. I don't threaten them
either, but Joan and I have noticed that if we talk about an
unsatisfactory plant in its presence, it will often respond in the way
we wish it to. There's no scientific or logical explanation for this
effect but it has happened in our garden too often for co-incidence.

How many times have I said to Sue "that useless plant just has to go" and a
week later it's flowering etc.,
.................................................. ................
Sue and Bob.
Some years ago I had growing in my back garden
a "Laxton Superb" apple tree which always gave great promise
but little substance. In front of my friends and neighbours - at a
barbecue in said named garden - I had a few words with the lazy tree
indicating that he/she ought to 'extract a branch.' or face the
consequences.

The following year I needed to use five support posts to prevent
branches from snapping under the weight of the delicious fruit.
My neighbours were very impressed. I was very smug. The tree
was unimpressed, and the following year it was felled in a storm.

Perhaps there's a moral there somewhere?

Regards
John
.................................................. ................

Thanks for all the replies, I guess I shall have to just wait until the
spring and see how they go. I cannot remember if they were Spring, I
thought I'd kept the seed packets, but can't find them. :-(
My sprouts are doing very well, and I have cabbage heads that are very
wasteful, the last one I cut weighed 5 1/2lbs after cutting off the outer
leaves, takes some eating does that! :-)

"Serendipity" wrote: Many moons ago, as a young man, someone told me that
the secret of firm sprouts was firm soil.

My father also advocated that, in fact he reckoned if you had to plant
sprouts with a crowbar they would flourish. I grew some very successfully
when I simply skimmed the weeds off a plot that had been fallow for years.

Bob wrote: How many times have I said to Sue "that useless plant just has
to go" and a
week later it's flowering etc.,
Would this be best done the 31st October? ;-)
Cheers
John T