CAULIFLOWER 239 
Wood ashes are employed by some growers. Bone 
meal at the rate of one pound to 20 square feet of space 
is beneficial. Lime should be used in the beds at least 
every other year. 
Soil preparation.—Some of the most careful growers 
prefer to compost the soil and manure at least half a year 
in advance of planting the beds. This insures a thorough 
mixture of the manure with the soil, and no method will 
give better results. It is more expensive, however, than 
preparing the beds in the frames or greenhouses by 
applying stable manure and other materials and incor- 
porating them thoroughly with the soil. The thorough 
methods used in preparing soils for lettuce will apply 
equally well in the preparation of beds for cauliflower, 
except that more stable manure might be used. The 
beds should be at least 8 inches deep. 
Starting the plants.—Strong, vigorous plants are essen- 
tial to a good crop. Many failures are attributable to 
poor plants. They are easily checked in growth and 
when stunted they seldom recover sufficiently to produce 
good heads. It is not uncommon for writers to say that 
cauliflower plants should be started in the same way as 
cabbage, but the fact is they demand much more careful 
attention. The plants, too, are very susceptible to damp- 
ing-off fungi. To avoid losses from this source, the soil 
should be steam sterilized and the most careful attention 
given to watering and ventilating. 
Sowings for the first crop are generally made between 
September 1 and November 1; if a succession is desired, 
sowings should be made at intervals of about two weeks. 
It is an advantage to sow in rows 3 inches apart, and 
then water may be applied between the rows without 
wetting the plants, which is helpful in preventing damp- 
ing-off. The seed should be sown thinner, too, than for 
cabbage, so that the plants will be strong and there will 
be free circulation of air among them—another pre- 
ventive measure of damping-off. 
