Brassican Geometry

I got the other tomato bed cleaned out so I could plant Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I got the Brussels sprouts at the Kernersville Feed & Seed. I would have purchased cauliflower there, but they don't sell them. I couldn't find them at Lowes or the farmers market either. But a couple of friends had told me that there was a place in Walkertown, Webster Brothers, that would carry them. I had never been to the Brothers' place and had only vague directions. However, it just happened last Friday that I had an eye appointment in Walkertown, so I kept my eyes peeled. Just as I turned into the optometrist's, I saw them a bit further down the road. Webster Brothers is a unique place. I hope they stay in business a long time. They did have cauliflower.

I planted this morning. My concern was that, like last year, I was going to somewhat crowd the bed. I had 9 Brussels sprouts and 8 cauliflower. Last year I planted 2 packs of 9 in a bed. It was a little crowded but things grew pretty well. I needed a geometric design for the planting to work. I actually used the Pythagorean theorem to figure out spacing. (All the plants was 18" between them.) I ended up with the 8 cauliflower on the outside ends and all the other places taken by Brussels sprouts.

This bed was the bed that had a lot of blossom rot among the tomatoes this year. I figured I would get a head start on increasing calcium and I put about 30-35 lbs. of dolomitic limestone in with the fertilizer as I prepared the bed. (I plan on planting tomatoes in this bed again in the spring.) I put bt on all the leaves of plants in this bed and in the broccoli bed.