Drought shrivels cauliflowers, gardeners urged to try heat-loving crops
Drought has left many cauliflowers undersized, so gardeners are advised to grow less thirsty alternatives like chilies and okra.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A prolonged summer drought has taken a heavy toll on cauliflower crops across the UK, leaving allotment growers with tiny, unusable heads and prompting fresh advice to switch to more resilient vegetables.
On a Derbyshire allotment, gardener Jed found his cauliflowers had failed to develop. Where he would normally expect hearts the size of a football, there was little more than a golf ball. "I haven't even got a golf ball. Look at the size of that and there isn't even a golf ball size heart," he said. The lack of water was the obvious culprit: "We haven't had the water for them."
Other crops have fared better. Jed reported that his leeks, courgettes and squashes were growing as expected, and potatoes were plentiful but disappointingly small. The same pattern emerged across the country: brassicas such as kale and savoy cabbage have thrived, while cauliflowers, which demand far more moisture, have struggled.
The Royal Horticultural Society is now recommending that gardeners think about diversifying. With the UK climate changing, it suggests growing vegetables that need much less water, and even some that are more common in warmer regions, such as chilies and okra. As one gardening expert put it: "Well the things that have done really well this year are kales and cabbages. They need much less water than cauliflowers."
Cauliflowers typically require several watering cans a week, whereas many alternatives can manage with just one. "You might need four watering cans a week for a cauliflower and the other things can get by with just one watering can," the expert added. Despite the disappointment, Jed remains undeterred and hopes for a better crop next year, but the changing climate suggests that home-grown vegetable patches may well start to look very different in years to come.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 |
|---|---|
| Cauliflowers require significantly more water than alternative crops like kale and cabbage. | |
| Drought caused cauliflower crops to fail, preventing proper head development. | |
| The Royal Horticultural Society advises growing less water-intensive vegetables, such as chilies and okra. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focused on the practical impact of the drought on a single allotment in Derbyshire, using gardener Jed's firsthand experience to illustrate the cauliflower failure. It also gave prominent placement to the Royal Horticultural Society's advice to plant alternative, less water-hungry crops. The tone was conversational and human, showing the visual contrast between healthy kale and shrivelled cauliflowers.
- “I haven't even got a golf ball. Look at the size of that and there isn't even a golf ball size heart.”
- “Well the things that have done really well this year are kales and cabbages. They need much less water than cauliflowers.”
- “You might need four watering cans a week for a cauliflower and the other things can get by with just one watering can.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.