How To Grow Cauliflower - Cauliflower Growing Tips

How To Grow Cauliflower - Cauliflower Growing Tips 

Cauliflower is one of the many cabbage related cole crops that revel in cool weather. Mark Twain called it "A cabbage with a college education.", but we don't think it's just cabbage with airs. Cauliflower has a very distinct nuttiness, closer to broccoli in flavor. The main edible part of both cauliflower and broccoli is the flower bud, making them both edible flowers.

Cauliflower is not the easiest vegetable to grow, because it is very sensitive to temperature changes, however with a little TLC, it can be a very rewarding vegetable for your garden. You'll have many more variety options if you start your cauliflower from seed.

Cauliflower Growing Tips 

You can start your Cauliflower from seeds easily, start your seeds indoor in seedling tray which is filled with healthy and compost mixed soil.

Sow seeds 1/4- to 1/2-inch deep in peat pots. This way, you can plant entire pots instead of plucked seedlings, and avoid root damage. Be sure to use sanitary tools and supplies to avoid exposing your germinating seeds to disease.

Choosing a planting position 

When the seedlings have sprouted not only cotyledons, or “seed” leaves, but several sets of true leaves, begin to “harden them off.” This simply means setting the pots outside for a few hours each day, increasing to all day, before transplanting them into the garden.

Choose a planting location with full sun to partial shade. Full sun is recommended by many seed packets however, a partially shaded placement offers protection in the event of a sudden spike in temperature.

Cauliflower does best in good soil that drains well. Per the results of your test, you may work amendments such as organically-rich compost, bone meal, 

Work your soil to a depth of at least six inches. Plant entire peat pots at least 24 inches apart. Some seed packets recommend closer plantings, but this doesn’t allow for maximum air circulation. Mature plants generally reach a height and girth of about two feet, and overcrowding increases vulnerability to pests and disease.

Growing Cauliflower 

Cauliflower is a cool-season crop and a descendant of the common cabbage. It is more difficult to than its relatives because it does not tolerate the heat or cold as well. For this reason, cauliflower is usually grown commercially.

If you plant to attempt growing cauliflower in the home garden, it requires consistently cool temperatures with temperatures in the 60s. Otherwise, it prematurely "button"—form small button-size heads—rather than forming one, nice white head.

• Select a site with at least 6 hours of full sun.

• Soil needs be very rich in organic matter; add composted mature to the soil before planting. Fertile soil holds in moisture to prevent heads from "buttoning."

• Test your soil! (Get a soil test through your cooperative extension office.) The soil pH should be between 6.5 and 6.8.

• It is best to start cauliflower from transplants rather than seeds. Transplant 2 to 4 weeks before the average frost date in the spring, no sooner and not much later.

• Space the transplants 18 to 24 inches apart with 30 inches between rows. Use starter fertilizer when transplanting.

• Plant fall cauliflower about the same time as fall cabbage. This is usually 6 to 8 weeks before the first fall frost and also need to be after the temperature is below 75 degrees F.

• If you really want to try starting cauliflower from seeds, start the seeds 4 to 5 weeks before the plants are needed. Plant the seeds in rows 3 to 6 inches apart and 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch deep. Do not forget to water the seeds during their germination and growth. Once they become seedlings, transplant them to their permanent place in the garden.

• In early spring, be ready to cover your plants with old milk jugs or protection if needed. For fall crops, shade them if they need protection from the heat.

• Add mulch to conserve moisture.Care

• Make sure that the plants have uninterrupted growth. Any interruption can cause the plants to develop a head prematurely or ruin the edible part completely.

• Cauliflower requires consistent soil moisture. They need 1 to 1.5 inches of water each week; with normal rainfall, this usually requires supplement watering.

• For best growth, side-dress the plants with a nitrogen fertilizer.

• Note that the cauliflower will start out as a loose head and it takes time for the head to form. Many varieties take at least 75 to 85 days from transplant. Be patient.

• When the curd (the white head) is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, tie the outer leaves together over the head with a rubber band, tape, or twine. This is called blanching, and it protects the head from the sun and helps you get that pretty white color.

• The plants are usually ready for harvest 7 to 12 days after blanching.

  

Fertilizing Cauliflower

If you choose to fertilize and don’t use a slow-release product, apply it at transplant, and then as a side dressing per 3 weeks during the growing season. 

Side dressing is simply applying it around the perimeter of plants, just outside the edge of the largest leaves, to avoid direct contact with foliage.

Watering 

Cauliflower requires even moisture, so don’t let it dry out. To increase moisture retention, make a narrow moat around each plant by mounding soil up in a ridge around it. 

Mix some mulch into this soil ridge to further aid in moisture retention, protect delicate roots, keep the ground cool, and inhibit weed growth. The less you weed, the better, as the roots are shallow and fragile.

Water deeply once a week with a gentle spray nozzle aimed at the soil over the roots. Do this in the morning or evening, when temperatures are at their coolest. Watering by hand plus rainfall should amount to between one and two inches per week.

Pests
• Cabbage worm
• Aphids
• Harlequin bugs
• Clubfoot
• Black rot


Harvest/Storage

• When the heads are compact, white, and firm, then it is time to harvest them. Ideally, the heads will grow 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
• Cut the heads off the plant with a large knife. Be sure to leave some of the leaves around the head to keep it protected.
• If the heads are too small but have started to open up, they will not improve and should be harvested.
• If the cauliflower has a coarse appearance, it is too mature and should be tossed.

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