Backyard Gardener (Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)
Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners. One of my friends reminded me this week marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day, known as the greatest amphibious landing in history. On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the codename for the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, France.
More than 150,000 troops were deployed to defeat the Axis powers and liberate Europe. We honor the memory of all the American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today.
This week I want to talk about cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis). Cauliflower is a cool-season or cole crop vegetable closely related to broccoli, cabbage, kale and collards. Cauliflower grows best in cool growing environments and is more sensitive to warm weather than broccoli. The optimal temperature for development of the curds, or head, is 60 to 70 degrees F.
The name “cauliflower” comes from the Latin caulis and floris, which translates to “cabbage flower.” Nutritious and colorful, cauliflower varieties can be purple, orange, yellow-green and white. It can be found in vegetable and ornamental gardens.
Recommended varieties of cauliflower for West Virginia are Snow Crown, Cheddar, Amazing, Apex, Candid Charm, Steady and Violet Queen. Most varieties mature in 45-75 days.
Cauliflower is established or planted as transplants. Direct seeding of cauliflower is difficult, so seeds should be sown indoors 4 to 6 weeks prior to the desired transplant date. Optimal germination temperatures are around 75 degrees F. Transplants of healthy, established plants will encourage proper growth and development.
Spring planting should be done by mid-April for early summer cauliflower. For the fall crop, transplants should be seeded in mid-June for transplanting in mid- to late-July until early August. Delayed planting will often result in “blank plants” with limited head production.
Cauliflower can be grown on many different types of soil but does best in a rich, well-drained soil with a high moisture-holding capacity. Soil pH is very important for these vegetables and should be 5.8 to 6.5 for best growth. Avoid planting where other cole crops were grown the last two years.
Cauliflower is a heavy feeder. A general fertilizer recommendation would be to apply 5-10-10 at 3 pounds per 100 square feet before planting. Nitrogen is important for this crop to produce a high-quality product. Side dress nitrogen in about 3-4 weeks after transplanting.
Similar to other cole crops, cauliflower is frost tolerant in the spring, but mature curds are not resistant to hard freezes, when temperatures dip below 32 degrees F for several hours. While both spring and fall cauliflower crops can be grown, cauliflower is more sensitive to hot weather than other cole crops. For a fall crop, set out transplants in early to mid-July.
When planting cauliflower, space plants 24 inches apart in the row with 30 inches between rows. Cauliflower should be grown on black plastic mulch to warm soil in spring or white plastic mulch to cool the soil in fall. Organic mulch, like straw and hay, can also be used. Drip irrigation is necessary to supplement rainfall through the growing season.
Principal disease problems are blackleg, black rot, clubroot and yellows. Many disease problems can be minimized by practicing crop rotation throughout the garden.
Most recommended varieties of cauliflower are self-blanching, which means the leaves fold over the developing head to keep it from getting discolored from the sun. Cauliflower is harvested when the heads are 6 inches in diameter and compact and the outer curds begin to separate from the head. Over-matured heads have a “ricey” look and are often discolored.
Contact me at the Wood County WVU Extension Office 304-424-1960 or e-mail me at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu with questions. Good Luck and Happy Gardening!
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Question of the week. I have bees drilling holes in my porch. What are they?
The large, black bees hovering around drilling holes into homes, out-buildings, wooden furniture and decks are most likely carpenter bees, often mistaken for bumble bees. Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They feed primarily on pollen from flowers and serve a valuable role as pollinators.
Holes are created by the female carpenter bee as it chews a tunnel entrance approximately ½ inch in diameter, just large enough for entrance. After tunneling is completed the bee will create individual cells using bits of sawdust and grass along the length of the tunnel. She will lay an individual egg in each cell before sealing it off.
Male carpenter bees buzz in front of people, giving the impression that they are guarding a nest and are ready to sting, but are harmless because they lack a stinger. Carpenter bees are solitary and do not have a communal colony and a queen as do bumble bees. The bees can cause potential structural and aesthetic damage as they bore into wood. Structural damage only occurs after many years of the bees boring new or enlarging tunnels in the same location.
Making woods less attractive by painting, using pressure treated or varnishing is the best preventative control. Usually hardwoods are less attractive to carpenter bees compared to pines and cedar.
If bees are becoming a nuisance, liquid sprays containing carbaryl (Sevin) or synthetic pyrethroids can be applied to wood surfaces so that bees die upon landing or boring there. An insecticide powder or dust can be puffed into the tunnel openings bees make.
The tunnels must be left open for a few days to allow the returning bees to contact the insecticide. Afterwards, the holes should be plugged using caulking or wood putty and then repainted to discourage future use.
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