amend your soil with very old cow or horse manure with lime, leaves grass clipping and or hay....mix this with a cultivator............rake it flat and either cover it with the garden cover or use newspapers covered with grass clippings between rows.....we planted them about 20 inches apart.....and when the florets are ready cut close to the florets on an angle. have ready a container with 1/2 cup salt and very cold water.....you can use a 5 gallon clean bucket on the porch as some black beetles are hiding inside.... I did a 2nd wash with the same mix and then in another just plain cold water started seperating the florets for the final rinse to get out the salt....you also could use a little vinegar instead of salt in the water...............but you have to rinse that again to clear out the vinegar........I do that with lettuce....I never buy prepackaged cut lettuce from the store only head lettuce.