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Cauliflower Growing Problems: Troubleshooting

Cauliflower is grown much like cabbage, but requires more careful treatment. It is best to start cauliflower indoors where it can be protected from both cold and hot temperatures. Spring-planted cauliflower is likely to face early cold and late heat which will make the effort difficult. Summer-planted cauliflower for fall harvest will be both easier to grow and more flavorful--cauliflower prefers to leisurely mature in cool weather. Start the fall cauliflower crop at the same time you plant late cabbage

 

For cauliflower growing tips see How to Grow Cauliflower or Cauliflower Growing Success Tips at the bottom of this post.

 

Here are common cauliflower growing problems with cures and controls:

 

Seedlings fail to emerge from soil; seedlings are eaten; roots are tunneled. Cabbage maggot is a small gray-white, legless worm to ⅓-inch long; adult is the cabbage root fly, looks like a housefly. Flies lay eggs in the soil near the seedling or plant. Maggots will tunnel into roots leaving brown scars; some plants may be honeycombed with slimy tunnels. Exclude flies with floating row covers. Remove and dispose of damaged plants. Apply lime or wood ashes around the base of plants; time planting to avoid insect growth cycle. Plant a bit later when the weather is drier. Companion plant with mint.

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How to Grow Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a cool-weather crop that requires 55 to 100 days of cool, even temperatures to reach harvest. Start cauliflower seed indoors 6 to 10 weeks before the last frost in spring. Transplants can go into the garden 2 to 6 weeks before the last frost, usually 6 weeks after sowing. Direct seed cauliflower into the garden where the soil temperature is between 65°F and 75°F and the weather will remain cool. Crops for fall harvest can be direct seeded 8 to 12 weeks before the first expected frost in fall. Transplants come to maturity in 55 to 80 days; from seed cauliflower requires 70 to 120 days.

 

How to prepare and cook cauliflower: click here.

 

Description. Cauliflower is a cool-weather half-hardy biennial grown as an annual. Cauliflower is grown for its edible buds which form a solid head atop single stalks. Heads are sometimes called curds. Heads can be cream, white, purple, or green colored. Broccoflower is a hybrid cross between a cauliflower and a broccoli; broccoflowers have green heads.

 

Yield. Plant 1 to 2 plants per household member

 

Site. Cauliflower grows best in rich, well-drained, moisture-retentive soil with a pH within the 6.5 to 8.0 range. Plant cauliflower in full sun. Broccoflower prefers partial shade. Add aged compost to planting beds before planting.

 

Planting time. Cauliflower requires 55 to 100 days of cool, even temperatures to reach harvest. Start cauliflower seed indoors 6 to 10 weeks before the last frost in spring. Cauliflower germinates at 45°F. (Cauliflower is usually grown from transplants.) Transplants can go into the garden 2 to 6 weeks before the last frost, usually 6 weeks after sowing when plants have 4 to 5 true leaves. Direct seed cauliflower into the garden where the soil temperature is between 65°F and 75°F and the weather will remain cool. Crops for fall harvest can be direct seeded 8 to 12 weeks before the first expected frost in fall. Cauliflower does not like extremes of temperature, hot or cold; it does not tolerate dry conditions. Plant cauliflower in autumn for a winter harvest where winters are mild and frost free. Extreme temperatures will cause cauliflower to bolt and go to seed.

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Planting Cauliflower

 

Cauliflower can be expensive at the produce counter, but it can be a staple of the kitchen garden with cool weather and regular water. Cauliflower requires two months of cool weather to reach harvest. Protected from frost it is a good choice in the spring and autumn gardens. (Tips on cooking cauliflower, click here.)

 

Planting Calendar. Cauliflower is a cool-season vegetable that that require from 90 to 120 days to mature and reach harvest. During the cauliflower growing season temperatures should range between 55ºF and 80ºF (13-27ºC). Cauliflower grown in hot or dry conditions can form loose, "ricey" heads. Conversely cauliflower also does not do well in very cold weather.

 

• Spring crop. Cauliflower needs two cool months in which to mature. For a spring crop plant set out transplants 4 to 6 weeks before the average date of the last frost in your area. Sow seed 6 weeks before your outdoor planting date.

 

• Autumn and winter crop. Sow cauliflower seed 90 to 120 days before the first frost in your region, or plant to protect plants that mature after the first frost in autumn. Plastic tunnels will protect cauliflower after the first frost. Plant cauliflower for a winter crop if your winters are mild. (Tips on planting the autumn garden, click here.)

 

Succession planting. Plant just a few heads at a time. For succession crops, plant seeds and transplants at the same time for succession crops, or plant early and midseason varieties at the same time.

 

Place. Cauliflower prefers full sun but will grow in light shade.

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Cauliflower

Pick up a palm-sized head of cauliflower and you will have the makings of a tasty snack.

Raw or steamed until tender-crisp and then chilled, florets of cauliflower can be dipped in guacamole, curried mayonnaise, or Russian dressing.

You can marinade raw or parboiled florets in a vinaigrette dressing and then mix them with broccoli, pimiento, mushrooms, and onions.

And, of course, as the French have done for nearly four centuries, steamed or boiled cauliflower can be buttered or dressed with a white or cheese sauce.

Spring and fall are the best times of the year to find abundant offerings of fresh, local cauliflower at your farm market.

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Cauliflower

Many French kings went by the name Louis. The name means famous warrior. The moniker worked for many of the kings of France, but by the time the name came down to Louis XV, the French had just about had it with the idea of an absolute monarchy.

While Louis XV did little to popularize the notion of the divine right of kings, he was a great lover of cauliflower and is perhaps rightfully credited with bringing that heavily flowered vegetable cousin of the cabbage to its culinary high point in history.

Even today if you see the name “Du Barry” on a French menu—such as crème Du Barry—you can be assured that cauliflower figures into the recipe. (You see, the Countess Du Barry was Louis’ favorite mistress and she shared her love for everything cauliflower with the king and his court.)

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