Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Purple cauliflower, violet cauliflower, Sicilian cauliflower: its color comes from anthocyanins, the same pigments found in red cabbage. One important detail to know before cooking it: the purple turns blue-green in boiling water. Steamed, roasted, or eaten raw, however, it retains all its intensity. This is what makes the difference between a successful preparation and a disappointment.
Characteristics:
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Purple florets: a spectacular color surrounded by light green leaves.
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Mild flavor: very similar to that of white cauliflower, without bitterness.
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Rare variety: uncommon on market stalls, it always makes an impression.
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Bonus: unlike white cauliflower, it does not need blanching — sunlight actually intensifies its color.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny — sunlight intensifies the color — but partial shade in hot regions, as it dislikes excessive heat.
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Soil: deep, cool, humus-rich, and slightly clayey. Like all cauliflowers, it is very hungry: a generous addition of well-rotted compost is essential. Avoid growing it where a brassica has grown during the previous three years.
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Method: sow in a nursery from March to April, 1 cm deep. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant when the plants are 10–15 cm tall, spacing them 50 to 70 cm apart. Transplant in cloudy weather and water generously: difficult establishment permanently prevents the head from forming.
Care advice:
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The critical point: keep the soil consistently moist. Cauliflower does not tolerate fluctuations — water stress results in a tiny head or causes it to flower directly. Mulch thickly.
- An insect-proof mesh laid over the plants from planting onward prevents cabbage white butterflies and cabbage flies.
Harvesting advice:
- Harvest as soon as the head is full and still tight. Do not wait: once the florets begin to spread apart, the texture and color deteriorate quickly.
- The leaves and peeled stalk can also be cooked.
Beneficial associations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- A cauliflower left to bolt produces a huge, extremely nectar-rich yellow inflorescence — if a head gets away from you, let it flower rather than pulling it out.
- Growing rare, colorful varieties helps preserve cultivated diversity, which has been greatly reduced by standardization.
Uses:
- Raw in salads or as an appetizer to fully enjoy its color, roasted in the oven in florets, or made into pickles — vinegar preserves and brightens the purple. Avoid boiling in lots of water, as this causes it to lose its color.
Saving your own seeds:
Let one head bolt and form seed pods, which should be harvested when brown and dry. Be careful: Brassica oleracea plants cross very easily with one another, so isolate your seed plant from other cabbages. See saving your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
A rare variety that turns the vegetable garden into a painting.
