"Bob Hobden" wrote in
:


"Part_No" wrote
Hello group
I hope you all had your best cropping year as I have(partially)
My first two years gardening a veg plot were a learning for me and to
get what I thought was a good soil, and I thought I had it.

I live in S****horpe which is in UK South of Hull

I have had a great third year with my veg plot: potatoes, beans,
tomatoes, herbs, onions, garlic, shallotts etc.

My cabbages and cauliflowers however have failed for two years
running! In the first year I had cabbage maggot, and I got over that
problem this year by using "collars" to stop them laying eggs at the
roots.

THIS year they have looked lovely and green, but have not "hearted
up" despite feeding them at regular intervals with blood/fish/bone
and also growmore.

3 small plots, one with blood/fish/bone the second with growmore, the
third
with both (and a couple with no fertilizer at all...they are useless)

I have rung the changes so that my own cultivations and shop bought
are in shared and different beds to eliminate fault but all are the
same.

What can I be doing wrong?

Thanks for reading this lengthy text.

Firstly, should they have hearted up yet? Which variety? When did you
plant out?
Only two of our winter cabbages have hearted yet and they are the ones
that have it wrong.

Uneven watering can cause problems with some although cauliflowers are
worse for that.

Check the ph of the soil, brassicas prefer an alkaline soil (ph7+) but
certainly don't like a very acid soil.


Thanks Bob for your reply.
I have been away for a few days.

BTW our soil around the area is very light(a joy to dig)and just about
everything I plant seems to thrive.

I think some should have hearted by now because some are a summer variety
(F1 minicole) which I planted in April to harvest late summer.
The rest I forget, but were an overwinter variety planted last Sept/Oct
for harvest May onwards.

As I say NONE even look like they will heart up.

It's been suggested that I have not put them in firm enough soil, and
that seems to be correct as some neighbours have been cropping all year
with the same plants as me(we bought them together), and they "hoofed"
theirs in very firmly as I did with my brussel sprouts, and they are just
perfect. It never occured to me that cabbages and caulli need the same
treatment.
I will be doing a ph test as soon as I get a kit.
I already have next years caulli and cabbage in and have hoofed them in
so it's too late to do much now so I will have to wait 'till 2010.

If you can advise me on anything I havn't done or have done will you give
me a few pointers please.

Thanks again
Part_No