Cauliflower Help!

[Ashers]

Morning,

First season with an allotment.

I planted cauliflower plants back in the second week of May and have watered them every day since. However, I've gone to check them today and it looks like they have bolted.

What have I done wrong?

Also, what does planting out an led firming down mean as I keep seeing this mentioned.

What do I do with the cauliflowers now? Can I cut out the parts that have bolted or do I need to rip them up.

[Snoop Puss]

Without a picture, it's hard to say. But is it possible that what you think of as bolting is in fact the cauliflower head forming?

[nickdub]

First off let it be said growing a real good cauliflower is a tricky proposition - its not something I've ever attempted. :-)

As for brassicas in general they do grow best in firm soil. This particularly means that when you are ready to put in the plants you fist rake the ground roughly level then, assuming it is neither too wet nor too dry, you stamp up and down the row where you are planting to compact the surface. Once done, you use a dibber (broken fork handle for example) to make a hole. Pop in the plant, then some water - finally firm the soil over the roots by pushing down hard with your hands but avoiding damaging the stem. The old-fashioned test was for the head gardener to come along and give the leaves a good yank - if the plants came out, they weren't in firmly enough.

If your plants have bolted, you can still cook them as greens - stir fry for example. The rest just goes on the compost heap as usual.