Early Snowball untreated Cauliflower - Ferme de Sainte Marthe seeds

The Early Snowball Cauliflower, also known as Brassica oleracea botrytis, is an autumn variety that forms heads of beautiful pure white. They are surrounded by beautiful green leaves. It should be consumed quickly as it does not store well. This cauliflower is sown from March to June for a harvest from September to December.

With its immaculate white and even, in recent years, joyfully yellow, orange or purple, 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 whose supposed origin is China.

Consumed for the first time in Germany only 300 years ago, this vegetable has earned a special place in our kitchens as it lends itself to many preparations. It can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, plain, in gratins with béchamel 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, and each one has a distinct growing period that should be respected. By carefully choosing your seeds, you can have this vegetable all year round.

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

Harvest: The Cauliflower is harvested when the head is compact by simply cutting it at ground level.

Storage: Cauliflower does not store very 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.

Gardener's tip: The main enemy of the cabbage is the Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae), a pretty cream-white butterfly with small black spots that emerges in April-May and wreaks havoc throughout the summer by devouring its leaves. Installing an insect-proof net tightly on market garden arches can help prevent this. These nets are easy to install and reusable to protect, for example, your carrot and leek crops.

Non-treated or "NT" seeds come from plants grown conventionally (often with the use of pesticides), but they do not undergo any treatment after harvest. These seeds are allowed in organic market gardening when organic seeds are out of stock.