What Happened Last Year in the Garden

If you have a scanner, it is sometimes a good idea to scan in the seed packages you've planted. It's easier and faster than keeping a notebook, and typically easier to find the information in subsequent years. This photo is an example, and I just saw it in one of my pictue files.

It made me remember the oddities of last year's garden. The radishes were easy to grow, and profuse, and we had far more radishes then anyone could want or that you could give away. The Eggplants were okay, but were on the small size so we can do better in the way of nutrients.

The strange tale is of the Cauliflower, something I had never tried growing. All of the plants came up very well and looked healthy. However, only two of the plants produced. The strangest thing was that the two cauliflowers which did "fruit" were terrific in size and very healthy looking. The other plants looked great but had no cauliflower buds.

So when I researched it (something I should have done beforehand), I found out that there is this thing you have to do to the plants. You have to "blanch" the leaves at the appropriate time. But then I wondered how I got those two beautiful looking plants without having done anything to them, either.

If you've got the answer, let me know. It's gotten too hot already to plant the cauliflower this year, so I'm going to be well prepared for next year. Adding chunks of cauliflower hearts to a soupy spaghetti (along with some spices) is a hearty and healthy dish which can feed the barracks....<