I’ve not taken you to the allotment lately. It’s been hard work all summer doing the watering, protecting crops from scorching and defending the brassicas from butterfly onslaught. But just look what cropped up this week. (And yes we have eaten it).
You have to watch cauliflowers. They can sneak up on you. One moment nothing but a bunch of leaves, the next a big head enough for two. If you miss the moment of readiness, they can soon be spoiled by grazing earwigs – the rotters.
With this year’s prolonged drought there have been a few losses and some so-so results. The broad beans and peas struggled fitfully. The runner bean seeds did not want to germinate. The strawberries started off well, then fainted. Some of the greens went grey with white fly and other nasties. The sweet peas went to seed as soon they flowered, then were attacked by aphids and had to be chopped. The French beans, though plentiful, were unusually stringy right from the get-go. And the runner beans are only now appearing at a manageable rate, this with the drop in temperature.
The courgettes, on the other hand, simply galloped away and are still producing. This I do not understand as they like to be watered well, and I have not watered them well, though they did have plenty of compost to grow in. We’ve also had good raspberries, beetroot, carrots, onions, a few squashes, and Swiss Chard which has grown itself. The borlotti and butter beans and leeks look to be doing pretty well, and we’ve had tomatoes and mini cucumbers from the polytunnel. The star success is the sweet corn, both the crop from the seedlings I bought in, and the Lark variety I grew myself. Round of applause for the Lark please even if it isn’t pink…
And we have asters, which are amazingly pink. I used to think I did not like them, but after last year’s gift from fellow allotmenteer, Siegfried, when he appeared on my plot with armfuls of them, I have been quite won over and decided to grow them too. Some of them come with their own crab spiders.
Tish Farrell 
ooh, i love all the pink!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Magnificent cauli 😀
Thank you m’am 🙂
Ah, the cauli. Does it keep its pinkness when cooked? And what a bevy of Asters – they are very beautiful.
It does stay pink – well, pinkish, which is perhaps not a good look. It tasted fine though 🙂
For a mo I thought you had photo shopped this. Never seen a pink cauli before.
Decidedly …. er … odd!
I’m thinking it’s been cross bred with sprouting broccoli. I agree it does look a bit alarming. But then at least I noticed it was ready to eat – not easy under all the netting defences.
You certainly are a good gardener. The produce from your allotment looks so healthy and bountiful. It’s interesting that the crops you got in a drought year are similar to the crops that grow best over here during the summer. You must of had to have done a lot of watering though. Did you have watering restrictions or were you able to water regularly?
Fortunately we had no restrictions. There’d been a huge amount of rain and snow in the winter, so we were lucky. Often hosepipe bans etc kick in after about 6 weeks of drought. Amazing we went for 3 months, and there’s still not much sign of rain on the weather forecasting horizon.
Gosh. I saw some aerial photos of Ireland on Facebook. It’s hard to imagine the UK and Ireland being so dry. Let’s hope those politicians wake up to what’s happening very, very quickly.
One hopes certainly, Suzanne. Our politicians have sunk to such low levels – thinking only about their party instead of the nation – I can’t see anything sensible happening soon.
We are facing exactly the same political situation over here. Our PM changed last week because of an in-fight within the party. The nation wasn’t consulted and we all still unclear as to what it was all about. The new PM says he is the face of a new political direction but he is wearing the same face he wore when he was Treasurer and, earlier, the Minister of Immigration who imprisoned refugee women and children on the island of Nauru.
It is so disappointing to be ruled by so many substandard individuals. Perhaps it has always been that way (which might account for a lot of historical messes come back to haunt us) – it’s just that we know more about them now.
Ours seem to have hit new lows.
😦
Oh, I’m so limited… I don’t think I’d want to eat a pink cauliflower. But the pink flowers do appeal to me.
You could think of it as pale broccoli, Shimon 🙂 It did taste pretty good, and much paler after steaming.
My favourite colour.
🙂
I just can’t get ready for pink cauliflower but every thing looks yummy. And the asters…good photos that I will be studing. I am about to make paper asters for my cards.
Happy to provide some prototype asters for your creations, Beverly.
Perhaps I should eat the asters and put the cauliflower in a vase? My roses are on the wane. Sue would love them. 🙂 But I have super zucchini to report!
Well done on the zucchini front! Not to everyone’s taste – cauli – whatever the colour.
Something new to me, pink cauliflower! Very pretty, Tish!
I love the pink cauliflower. I am looking forward that the season for this wonderful veggie starts again and sharing recipes at the market while standing in line.
Hello there. I am envying you being France as autumn approaches. Oh, the veggie stalls. Btw – I’m very much enjoying your lovely photos.
I’m green with envy except for my thumbs.
Oh dear – no green thumbs. That’s sad, Bumba. But is it true?
It’s ironic that despite being all thumbs, none of them are green.
(Sigh). Perhaps that’s my advantage – I’m all thumbs and they ARE green 🙂
I’m green with envy – except for my thumbs!
Wow what a fabulous cauli!.
It was my cucumbers this year that got carried away. Theyve had a whale of a time.
That conjures rather alarming images, Becky. Look out – it’s the giant cucumbers!
They were spiky too!!!
Yikes!
What I was saying every time I picked one!
I am loving all the pink, but it’s the corn which steals my heart! And the part of your post which makes my cheeks pink with laughter is your account of the strawberries which started out well and then fainted.
You should have seen them! They just flopped, and it’s only now that they’re coming to their senses again. I think I need to make them a new bed, poor things. (Happy to make you laugh, Ann)
😀 I am sure they will thank you profusely if you do that.
Lovely post. Our growing year has been up and down, but the courgettes always seem invincible.
Many thanks, Angela. And yes there seems no stopping the courgettes. I’ve even stopped watering them altogether, and still found two this evening.
Look at those colours! 😀
Vibrant?!
I have seen pink cauliflower in the shops and wondered if it was natural or some sort of dye. I guess it’s natural after all.
Ark thought I’d photo-shopped it. There are more growing too.
I’d rather look at caulies than eat them and pink is a bonus 🙂
I remembered you didn’t like them 🙂
Been wondering how the allotment survived, so good to have an up and down date. Amazing coloured cauli I love cauliflower cheese, I wonder if the pink colour would enhance or detract?
Detract, I think, unless you like your cauli really crunchy and still retaining its colour. I have to say, once cooked, it had the look of something that’s come out of the washing machine having been washed with something pink. Broken into florets and quickly blanched for a salad might be better.
That is an interesting description. I remember, way back, when all men’s undies were white and very often became pale pink!!!
That was just what I was thinking 🙂
That cauliflower looks beautiful
Thank you, Lazarus. It was a proud moment harvesting it 🙂 🙂
To be candid with you, never seen one with such color before
They are not common!
I see!
The colour of the cauliflower is amazing, can I ask where you sourced the seeds?
I think it was probably from https://www.simplyseed.co.uk/
Thankyou! I have just ordered a purple coloured cauliflower, but I will keep it in mind when I need to purchase some more!