Cauliflower Armetta F1

The 'Armetta F1' Cauliflower (in Latin, Brassica oleracea botrytis) is a hardy variety, resistant to cold, and well-suited for winter crops. This cauliflower is sown from June to September for a harvest from January to April.

With its pristine white colour and, in recent years, joyful yellow, orange or purple hues, the Cauliflower is a flowering vegetable whose fleshy meristem is consumed. It belongs to the large family of Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae) and bears the Latin name Brassica oleracea botrytis. Sometimes called Cyprus Cabbage, the Cauliflower is a biennial vegetable plant believed to have originated in China.

First consumed in Germany only 300 years ago, this vegetable has earned a prominent place in our kitchens because it lends itself to many preparations. It can be consumed raw in salads or cooked, plain, in gratins with bechamel sauce, or accompanied by a curry sauce that complements its flavour very well. It is a low-calorie vegetable and rich in vitamin C.

There are many varieties of Cauliflowers, each with a distinct growing period that should be respected. You can have this vegetable all year round by carefully choosing your seeds.

The Cauliflower is a demanding vegetable, requiring excellent basal fertilisation and regular moisture.

Note: This variety is labelled F1 for "F1 hybrid" because it results from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This results in a variety that can be particularly tasty and early while resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticised or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid seeds are attractive for their uniformity and resistance. Still, unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to subsequent generations: it will, therefore, not be possible to recover the seeds for later sowing.

Harvest: The Cauliflower is harvested when its head is compacted by cutting it at ground level.

Storage: Cauliflower does not keep well. It is best to consume it quickly after harvesting. It can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it after blanching it for 3 minutes in salted boiling water.

The gardener's little tip: The main enemy of the cauliflower is the Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae), a beautiful cream-white butterfly with small black spots that emerge in April-May to wreak havoc on its leaves. While spraying a solution based on Bacillus Thuringiensis is an acceptable curative measure, we prefer, in our garden, to opt for prevention by installing insect-proof netting on market garden hoops. These nets are easy to put in place and reusable to protect, for example, your carrot and leek crops.