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 T T          

(Best months for growing Cauliflower in Australia - tropical regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • 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

21 Apr 12, mick (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
just wondering if anybody has good tips for natural and organic pest control.seem to have a lot of aphids and white moths. plants are nice and healthy apart from leaves being eaten
23 Apr 12, Julia (Australia - temperate climate)
I use just plain flour, sifted onto the leaves of my plants, it acts as a stomach poison on the caterpillars but doesn't harm anything else, no harm to you and breaks down quickly
05 Jan 12, Joe (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Cauli-Community, Here on the Sunshine Coast QLD have problems with white butterflies and worms eating away the leaves. A decent daily spray of garlic and chilly infused water seems to fight off both successfully. Caulis seem to be strong feeders; I applied good general fertilizer weekly and added aged cow manure a shovel load per plant per month. Heads are now developing, yeah! I grow them under 90% shade cloth and hope this keeps the heads white. temperatures are going up which they dont seem to like a lot; supply decent deep root drinks daily. Fingers crossed! Joe
29 Nov 11, Sam (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks - I finally got a couple to grow and I harvested the first one this morning because the curds were starting to separate. It is very small (I don't expect them to be as big as a store bought one) but kind of greenish and discoloured. Is it safe to eat do you think?
13 Oct 11, Sam (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted cauliflower some months ago and the plants are going nuts. They look really healthy and are getting quite big but there is no sign of a head yet. Will it come or is it too late. Why wouldn't the heads be forming?
28 Oct 11, Bruce (Australia - temperate climate)
Be patient, they grow huge and quite slowly.
17 Nov 11, dave (Australia - temperate climate)
cauli sould be grown in cool temps it dose not like summer
31 Jul 11, Ben Fergusson (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Karen had the same problem till told by a commercial grower to tie all the leaves together over the head and water well each day walla it worked
30 Jul 11, Karen (Australia - temperate climate)
My cauliflower plant looks good but the head or curds are not close together but spread and look as if it has gone to seed. what have i done wrong?
13 Jul 11, Bruce (Australia - temperate climate)
You don't say what is eating your plants such as snails or small grey match head size bugs. Di-pel is available at local garden shops for cabbage moth(grey bugs). It is not a chemical and acceptable for use by organic gardeners. You need to read the label to understand how it works. Bruce
Showing 111 - 120 of 162 comments

I am trying to grow cauliflowers successfully. The outer leaves which are long are going quite curly and look as if something is wrong. The head of the cauliflower is still very small and they have been in the ground for at least two months. Any ideas?

- rhonda khoury

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