No caulis - just leaves!!

Well, it helps a bit to know that I wasn't the only one to have a poor French bean crop this year! Now, I planted some baby cauliflower plants way back in Spring in a raised planter set in the ground (no bottom, so soil underneath) filled with good quality compost. They have produced strong stems and masses of huge leaves but there are no cauliflower heads lurking at their centres. What have I done wrong? A friend of mine planted some similarly and says he doesn't do anything special to them, yet his have produced veg.!

 

Caulis need to be planted in soil compacted like concrete. It must be really firm.:gnthb:

 

I think a shock can send them blind. They should never suffer stress. A shortage of water that other brassicas would shrug off can lead to crop failure in caulis