I like roasted cauliflower as much as the next Brownstone Brooklynite, but it is a tough vegetable to grow.
The plant has strong opinions about temperature (not too hot, not too cold), about water, and about stability. It has little tolerance for swings in weather, and a susceptibility to pests that can decimate an entire plant.
But I heard about this fast-maturing cauliflower variety called Fujiyama from a YouTube video, which supposedly grows a small head in 45 days. I was skeptical, but willing to gamble.
(Faster growing times also mean the window for “perfect conditions” can be much shorter.)
Forty-five days later, I had three plants with beautiful blue-green-grey leaves ... and no heads. I was just about ready to give up when I noticed a tiny cauliflower had formed almost overnight.
It was a perfect miniature version of a full head: dime-sized, tightly formed, and wrapped in small ruffled leaves.
A surprise and a delight.
What plant in your garden has surprised you most after you almost gave up on it?
