Growing Cauliflower - Essential Growing Tips for Good Cauliflower – Plukkers.com

Quick start ⚡ Quick start info for sowing cauliflower ⚡

🌱 Sowing & planting

Sowing depth: 1.5 cm
Sowing distance: sow in 8 cm pots
Germination: 24 °C, 7-10 days
Planting distance: 60 cm all around
Plant out when: 4 to 6 weeks after sowing
Growth cycle: approx. 160 days

📅 Growing times throughout the year

Widow cultivation (under glass): sow under glass in early to mid-September; plant under glass in late September-mid-October; harvest mid-April-mid-May.
Free-star cultivation: sow under glass in early February-early March; plant outdoors in mid-April; harvest in mid-June-mid-July.
Summer cultivation: sow under glass in late March–mid-May; plant outdoors in early May–mid-July; harvest in early July–early September.
Autumn cultivation: sow outdoors mid-May–early July; plant outdoors mid-June–mid-August; harvest September–November.
Winter cultivation: sow outdoors mid-June-early July; plant outdoors late July-August; harvest April-May.

Start cultivation (sowing)

Harvesting

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

🪟 Breeding of lions (under glass)

🪟 Maid (under glass → outside)

🪟 Summer cultivation (under glass → outdoors)

🪏 Autumn cultivation

🪏 Winter cultivation

🏠 Inside

🪟 Greenhouse / conservatory

🪏 Outside

📘 Basic information

Crop group: Cabbage crop
Plant family: Cruciferous family
Height: approx. 50 cm
Growth cycle: approx. 160 days
Frost resistant: yes
Root system: 30-45 cm
Preferred soil: pH 6.5-7.0, loam soil
Fertilization: nitrogen-rich nutrition (cow manure, nettle manure, etc.), do not over-fertilize to avoid excessive leaf growth

🌞💧 Pitch & water

Location: 🌞 lots of sun

Watering: 💧💧 water moderately

🤝 Good & Bad Neighbors

Good neighbors

Beans
Peas
Celery
Aromatic herbs

Bad neighbors

Climbing beans
Tomato
Pepper
Eggplant
Strawberry
Mustard

❗ Dangers & Concerns

Cabbage flies and cabbage whites are important pests; cabbage collars and especially insect netting offer protection.
Clubroot can occur in cabbage crops; prevent this with strict crop rotation and wait four years before planting cabbages in the same bed again.

🧺 Harvesting & storing

Cabbage grows quickly under ideal conditions. Harvest the cauliflowers within 1 to 2 weeks after the head reaches 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) in height.

A good cauliflower is white and compact. Cut the main stem and leave a few leaves around the head until you prepare it. Bolted or flowering cauliflowers quickly lose their quality.

The rest of the plant can be composted, except in cases of clubroot infestation: in that case do not compost the plants but remove them or feed them to small livestock.

🍽️ Nutritional value

Per 100 g cooked cauliflower (without salt):

23 kcal
0 g fat
4 g carbohydrates
2 g protein
2 g fiber
2 g sugar
Vitamins: B6, C and K
Other: thiamine, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium, folic acid, pantothenic acid and manganese

Table of Contents:

Introduction to Growing Cauliflower Growing cauliflower in general What does cauliflower look like Germinating your cauliflower seeds Planting out seedlings and what to look out for with cauliflower plants When can we plant out cauliflower plants? These are the practical fundamentals of cauliflower growing What soil is best for growing cauliflower ? Crop rotation and cauliflower - You can't grow cauliflower in the same place every year There are many types of cauliflower - which varieties should you actually grow? growing cauliflower step by step towards well-grown cauliflowers Sowing your cauliflower seeds: It's worth mentioning that you can always buy cauliflower seedlings in our online store during the season. These are readily available during the planting periods. There are 7 different cultivation methods for cauliflower , also called "widow cultivation ." Widow cultivation gives you early, early vegetables. January sowing is not the easiest cultivation. Freemason cultivation - The ideal early cultivation. Summer, early, and late autumn cultivation. Important things to know about cauliflower cultivation - Planting out: What planting distance should you maintain when growing cauliflower ? The ideal fertilization for cauliflower. What disease is cauliflower susceptible to? Clubroot - The fungus that is difficult to treat Heartlessness - Lots of leaves and no cauliflower Cabbage root in your cabbage bed during frost in April Drills - mini cabbages that will never grow big Pests - Bugs bugs bugs Flea beetles can ruin your cauliflower cultivation Cabbage gall midge Butterfly caterpillars can spoil your cauliflower fun Cabbage fly also lays its eggs at the base of your plants Crop protection with insect netting Finally

Do you also think growing cauliflower is difficult? That's actually quite true. Cauliflower requires a lot of attention from sowing to harvesting. In this article, I'll go over everything you need to consider step by step. At the end of the growing season, you'll be able to harvest beautiful and delicious cauliflowers. If you're lucky, the conditions for a successful crop are already naturally present in your garden: good soil, proper fertilizer, sufficient water, no clubroot, and favorable weather. But if you're not so lucky, you'll have to take the necessary precautions yourself. After an introduction and some general information, we'll go through the steps of growing cauliflower.

Introduction to Growing Cauliflower

Cauliflower belongs to the cruciferous family, like all cabbages. Radishes and many weeds, such as shepherd's purse, and green manures, are also cruciferous. This is important to know because clubroot can be spread through all members of the cruciferous family. Clubroot is a disease that destroys cabbage plants and occurs when you grow cruciferous vegetables too often in the same spot. More on that later.

Cauliflower florets are cross-shaped, clearly a cruciferous cauliflower, but it's only a reasonable source of vitamins and a rather poor source of minerals compared to other vegetables. So why all the effort? Well, cauliflower is delicious and can be prepared in many ways. And if you grow it successfully, it's very satisfying. According to the Dutch food table, the nutritional value of the edible part per 100 grams of edible cauliflower is: 104 kJ or 41 kcal. According to this table, the composition of 100 grams of edible part is as follows:

Water 93 g
Energy-providing nutrients:
- protein 2 g
- fat 0.5 g
- carbohydrates 3 g.
Minerals:
- calcium 20 mg
- phosphate 30 mg
- iron 0.5 mg
- sodium 15 mg
- potassium 400 mg
Vitamins:
- thiamine (B-1) 0.05 mg
- riboflavin (B-2) 0.07 mg
- vitamin B-6 0.17mg
- vitamin C 80 mg and after preparation another 60 mg.

Growing cauliflower in general

What does the cauliflower look like?

Cauliflower is a cabbage whose inflorescence (bud/stalk) is eaten before it develops into beautiful flowers. That's why cauliflower is only harvestable for such a short period; it wants to flower quickly. Cauliflower is a deep-rooted plant with long leaves. The stem is very short and ends in a closed, fleshy, semi-conical head. Not exactly an appetizing description when you read it like that. When you harvest the head, it should be snow-white, dense, firm, and not too lumpy.