By: PAUL MCKAY
Bizarre as it may seem, the organised home-grower already needs to be thinking about early winter vegetables. The recent cloudy skies and chilly nights could lead one to believe last year’s winter isn’t over yet, but that aside, plans have to be made.
Many years ago, when I first moved to the Algarve, an elderly neighbour laughed helplessly at my pitiful attempts at vegetable growing and set about trying to put me on the right path. The first thing I had to learn was to unlearn almost everything I had previously gleaned from books.
The difference in climate affects the speed at which plants grow, their water requirements, the position one plants them in and the time of year for sowing. This final point is the issue that gives new gardeners most difficulty and it takes a good few years of trial and error until one finally gets a feel for the correct sowing time.
The prevailing weather and soil temperature at any particular time can vary tremendously from year to year, so one has to have a feel for when conditions are right; having said that though, there are general guidelines one can follow.
I remember being very surprised that brassiccas (cauliflowers, broccoli, cabbages etc.) do very well if the seeds are sown in early July – the hottest time of the year. I persevered, however, and, true enough, this is now my usual routine. The crème de la crème of the brassicca family is the cauliflower and, with a little work now, one can be eating creamy cauliflower soup all winter long.
Growing collies
Sow cauliflower seeds into a seedbed, fairly thinly about 1cm deep, in soil that you can keep moist for the next month or so. They can be sown in partial shade to avoid too much drying out in the hot August sun.
Germination usually takes about 10 days. Thin the seedlings to stand about 5cm apart from each other.
The seed leaves (two heart shaped leaves) appear first, soon to be followed by the true, more ‘cabbagey’ looking leaves. When they have five ‘true’ leaves (usually a month or so after germination), they are ready to be moved from the seedbed to the permanent bed.
The permanent bed (where the cauliflowers will grow to maturity) should contain rich soil and should not be acid soil. Transplant the small plants on a cool day or in the late evening, taking care to keep as much soil around the roots as possible – plant to the same depth as they were in the original bed and firm down. Water them in well and keep wet for the first week or so. Each plant should stand between 30cm and 60cm apart, depending on how big it will eventually grow.
Harvesting
Pick your collies when they look ready – the head should be firm, a snowy white colour and the florets tightly packed together. Slice through the stalk with a sharp knife and cook as soon as you can – the rest can be dug up and thrown to the pigs.
Storing
Collies will store for a few weeks in cool, dry conditions. They can be frozen or pickled too. For me, the most successful method is to make a creamy cauliflower soup and freeze that.
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