cauliflower

[MissPea]

so.. reading up on this, looks like this is a difficult plant to get right for some. I was naive to think i could plant them in a wooden planter as my soil at home is horrific with heavy clay. and to prove this i even had a cauliflower planted in the ground too.
so far it looks like they're both growing well ( in the planter - yes very optimistic as they are becoming big already)
the have stalks that look like could snap,
if i earth these up, to prevent these falling will it rot?
do i feed these now? the soil was fresh from a bag and didn't give any nutrients before planting
am I too adventurous with these being stuck in this box?

I will attach photos once I'm home but want to get advice before getting home.

again I have broccoli in the same set up, but actually seems to be working and growing little parts already! I will attach pictures as I have these , again what will i do with the twiggy stem?

Thanks in advanced. your all a helpful bunch.

[MissPea]

Broccoli babies

[MissPea]

Oh found. Twiggy stem pic of the cauliflower

[MissPea]

So you can probably guess the first two are the cauliflower plants and the rest are broccoli

[Greenleaves]

The cauliflowers like fine apart from a little slug damage....you could add a handful of chicken pellets and just rub them into the surface...Going by the size I wouldn't expect them to flower to early March

[MissPea]

I’ll try that, I didn’t expect anything this year for either of them, so I’m quite impressed at the size. What about the branch though can I add more soil without it rotting?
Also how can I stop the slugs eating the actual brocolli part there’s already some nibbled by the looks of it on the one.

[Greenleaves]

As regards slugs, vigilance or pellets. I would not add any soil around the cauliflowers. The thin stalks will thicken....if the plants are exposed to strong winds you may want to add a small stake, just to steady them

[Snoop Puss]

^That's interesting, GL. I effectively earth up brassicas. Maybe I should stop doing that.

[MissPea]

Okay thank you! Here’s hoping I get some!
I also have broccoli in hanging planters (didn’t want to waste the plants) and they seem to have bigger heads than these ones lol!

[Greenleaves]

^That's interesting, GL. I effectively earth up brassicas. Maybe I should stop doing that.

No right or wrong I guess Snoop.....just how I was taught