ast, ia 
JuLy, 1908 
gardener should plant the extra early dwarf 
sorts of the Early Dwarf Erfurt type. 
The outdoor crop of cauliflower matures 
from July until the middle of November 
from seed started in heat in the spring. 
In the South early varieties are started 
in the fall. They make good growth during 
the cool winter months and mature in the 
early spring; but the very finest quality of 
all is possibly only to those who have cool 
greenhouses or coldframes, the crops being 
grown respectively during winter or early 
in the spring. 
FOR THE HOME GARDEN 
Early in the spring, as soon as the days 
are bright and sunny (or when the red maples 
are in flower,) I sow a packet of seed of one 
of the special extra early varieties in a 
coldframe. As the seed costs twenty-five 
cents for a small packet it is handled care- 
fully. The soil, is a light rich compost, and 
the seed is sown quite thinly in shallow 
drills four inches apart and covered one- 
half inch with finely sifted soil, pressed 
down firmly on the seed. A light sprinkling 
with tepid water is then given, and the bed 
covered with glass sash. Watch closely 
to see that the soil does not become dry or 
baked... A sprinkling of water at frequent 
intervals, when the soil becomes slightly dry, 
is much better for this early spring seed- 
bed than a heavy watering at any one time; 
it does not cool the soil so much, nor is 
the light watering at frequent intervals as 
likely to cause the seed to rot in the soil 
during dull cloudy weather. 
When the young seedlings appear above 
the ground give plenty of fresh air, entirely 
removing the sash on bright sunny days. 
A sturdy well grown plant is much more 
likely to produce a fine head than one that 
is weak and drawn from being coddled in 
too warm a seed-bed or from crowding. 
I aim to sow the seed so thinly that the 
young plants will stand fully one inch or 
more apart in the rows, but it is somewhat 
difficult to accomplish and the seedlings are 
thinned when they show one or two true 
leaves. Four inches space between the rows 
in the bed permits stirring the soil between 
the rows with a small scratcher or weeder 
after the young plants start into growth. 
Keeping the soil loose and fine, not only 
promotes the best growth in the plants, but 
allows the soil to dry out more evenly. 
The best flayor in cauliflower is had from green- 
house or frame crops in early spring 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
As soon as the head shows, tie the leaves over it 
to get sound, white curd 
If the surface soil becomes crusted it dries 
out very quickly and the young plants are 
apt to “damp” or rot in the seed-bed. 
When three to four true leaves are devel- 
oped the spring will be well advanced, and 
the sash should be removed from the seed- 
bed. The plants are ready for setting out 
as soon as the ground can be properly pre- 
pared, which will be about the time the 
maple trees are well in leaf or when the 
cherry trees are in bloom. 
_ Where it is not convenient to give the 
plants this early start in a glass-covered bed 
or for a fall supply, the plants can be grown 
in an open air seed-bed from sowings made 
at any time after the maples are well in leaf 
until about the middle of June. These 
open air seed beds will require attention 
in protecting the young seedlings from the 
small black fly, but have the advantage of 
producing naturally a dwarf, stocky plant 
if the seed is not sown too thickly. 
My garden is laid off in rows three feet 
apart after plowing and harrowing in the 
spring, and I find that one or two rows a 
hundred feet long, set with good plants in 
the spring, give us all the cauliflowers the 
family can eat or pickle and also a number 
for sale at intervals. The rows are marked 
out with a hand-plow and the young plants 
carefully set with a trowel, two feet apart 
in the row, pressing fine soil firmly about 
the plant. As soon as they start into growth 
or when the roots take hold in the soil, they 
are hoed and the horse-cultivator is kept 
constantly going between the rows at least 
once a week when the soil is sufficiently dry 
to crumble into a fine loose condition. 
Frequent working not only keeps down 
weeds, but greatly promotes the growth of 
the plants, and the drier the season the more 
frequent the cultivation. 
If the ground is dry at setting time the 
327 
holes are first filled with water, and the 
plants are set in the moistened soil and the 
dry surface soil drawn up around the stems. 
This may seem a good deal of trouble, but 
it gives big returns, securing satisfactory 
results even if the season and surrounding 
conditions are unfavorable. 
In large field plantings the plants are 
usually set four to four and a half feet apart 
each way and the soil frequently cultivated 
in both directions. Market growers also use 
very large quantities of high-grade commer- 
cial fertilizer (frequently as muchas fifteen 
hundred pounds per acre). About one- 
half of this is put on and harrowed in when 
preparing the field for planting and the 
balance is put on at intervals as the plants 
increase in size by spreading it on the soil 
about the stalks to be worked into the ground 
with the hoe or cultivator. In the field, 
cultivation should be continued until the 
plants reach full size and the heads start 
to develop. 
BLANCHING 
Twice a week look over the rows when 
the heads begin to form and where the heads 
or flowers have reached a diameter, of say 
two inches, gather together the leaves of 
the plant and lightly tie them at the top. 
This protects the heads from the sun, keep- 
ing them blanched and increasing the 
delicacy of flavor. 
Examine the tied up heads every few 
Cut the heads with the surrounding leaves, 
trimming them to project slightly above the curd. 
Algiers, a favorite later sort for the South 
days by slightly separating the leaves, 
allowing them to close up again if the 
head is not ready for cutting. Cut the 
head when it has reached full size; this can 
be determined by the surface of the “curd,” 
as already stated. 
The entire top or centre of the plant is 
cut from the stalk just below where the 
leaves which have been tied together start 
from the stalk; the leaves around the head 
are then trimmed off with a sharp knife 
about one inch aboye the edge of the curd. 
This edging of cut leaves left around the 
head serves to protect the head from injury 
in subsequent handling. Great care should 
be exercised in handling the heads not to 
