Growing Cauliflower

brassica oleracea var. botrytus botrytus : Brassicaceae / the mustard or cabbage family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  S S                  
      T                
      P                

(Best months for growing Cauliflower in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 60 - 100 cm apart
  • Harvest in 15-22 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, chamomile)
  • Avoid growing close to: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chili, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard

Your comments and tips

11 Jul 10, stella (Australia - temperate climate)
my cauliflower plant has like green buds and a yellow flower bloomed as well ..wat is wrong with it as i didnt see any white curds forming
12 Jul 10, Steven (Australia - temperate climate)
Cauliflower florets will be green if exposed to sunlight. You need to rip of a leaf or such, or grow a curling leaf vaiety, to cover the florets from sunlight, so they stay white. Sounds like you grew a good head of cauliflower, but its green now instead
21 Jun 10, Julian (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I planted my Cauli's in March and have only this week picked two but the others even though the leaves are over 21/2 feet long have no centre's as yet what am I doing wrong and doesn't that seem a long time?
21 Jun 10, (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Cauliflowers can take 4 to 6 months to grow to a usable size, so hang in there.
20 May 10, jim.byrne (Australia - temperate climate)
a friend of mind told me that if the cauli plant made a flower i should pull it out of the bed and transplant all the other cauli from around it to a separate bed. could someone please advise me about this issue ?
27 Jan 10, K Stevenson (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have one particular capsicum bush that just seems to keep going I have had it for over 12 months, I nearly threw it out I have had well over a dozen capsicums from it and it has started fruiting again with about 24 on it this is the third time for fruiting, is this normal all I do is put some liquid fertilizer and some epsom salts when the leaves get a bit droopy but only about every couple of months
22 Nov 09, Teashy B (Australia - temperate climate)
Here is a tip that I was given and have had no problems with, when the head of your cauli has began to form, gather the outer leaves into your hand, get a rubber band and tie the top together on so that it acts as a sheild for the cauli. This gives me white cauli's all the time.. goodluck
22 Nov 09, Drasjic (Australia - temperate climate)
Kathryn...i had the same problem, so after looking on the net i found this, would certainly explain my case, days of high 30's then low 20's even down to 15 or so...It can be due to poor leaf growth and the exposed head can discolor. It can also happen due to weather fluctuations. Cauliflower is sensitive to variations in heat and cold, so it begs the question, how has your weather been? As to whether you want to eat the pink part or not, It would be like eating the sunscalded portion of a tomato. It's not going to kill you, but you're eating dead tissue, so just cut it off and eat the rest.
12 Nov 09, (Australia - temperate climate)
Help please first time cauli grower in NW Tasmania. Lots of huge leaves each plant seems to have a least five small heads on them but one had quite a large head so we cut it and only then noticed that the curds werent compact. it has a green tinge to it. The centre of the head about the size of a 20cent piece is compact. any ideas?
03 Nov 09, Jason (Australia - temperate climate)
After some recent rain I inspected my caullies and found them covered in what look like green caviar, are these butterfly eggs? I washed them off and although I have found lots of caterpillars on my brocolli leaves so far the cauly seems ok. Any ideas on what these could be?
Showing 161 - 170 of 204 comments

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