How to Grow Cauliflower

Cauliflower Germination Information

How to Sow Cauliflower:

• Best sown indoors, 5-7 weeks before planting out, at a temperature of 70-75°.
• Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds and expect germination in 8-10 days
• Seeds can also be sown outdoors 2 weeks before last spring frost or 31/2 months before first fall frost.
• Sow them in individual pots at a temperature of 70° and at the same depth as outdoors
• In Zones 8 and warmer, seeds can be sown in late summer for a winter crop.
• Outdoors, direct sow at the same depth as above and in rows 3 feet apart
• It is 30-80 days from sowing to harvesting.

How to Grow Cauliflower:
Transplanting: Transplant when there are at least two sets of true leaves. Plant out 2 weeks before last spring frost.

Spacing: Space 18-24 inches apart in full sun

Soil: Site in a deep, rich, moist, well-drained soil. Feed with a low nitrogen fertilizer before planting out and again every 4 weeks.

Additional Care: Keep plants well watered and mulch to keep the soil cool and moist. It is a cool-season crop and will not form a head under hot or dry conditions. To blanch it white, tie the outer leaves over the heads when they are 2 inches across.

Appearance and Use:

Grown for its heads of flower buds that come in colors of purple, green, or are blanched white. It grows 2- 21/2 feet tall and has large blue-green leaves. Harvest the 4-10 inch heads while the buds are still tight, in late spring or early summer. Cut them below the tree-like clusters and eat them fresh or can or freeze them.

About Cauliflower:
Botanical name: BRASSICA oleracea
Pronunciation:  bras’i-kå o-ler-a’-se-å
Lifecycle:  Perennial
Origination: Brassicaceae; native to coastal Europe.