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           S S S S S
T T T           T T T T

(Best months for growing Cauliflower in Australia - cool/mountain 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

06 Sep 15, 1st time veggie grower (Australia - temperate climate)
My cauliflowers are going great (white) do I cut them off from the base and remove the rest of the plant and discard -is this the end of its life or do I leave it and will another cauliflower will grow from it?
03 Jan 16, Anne (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I would like to know this too please
21 Jun 15, Brian (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Jim, You can get a purple cauli, but I will assume you have a different variety. break/bend and tie a couple of the outer leaves and lay them over the head. This will stop them from
19 Jun 15, Jim (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
This is our first attempt at growing cauliflowers. Looked good to start off .Cauliflower heads are turning purple ,only about 75 -100 mm in diameter and opening up.
08 Jun 15, Critters (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Currently growing a hybrid cauliflower, rather tall plant reaching between 80cm to 1 metre tall. the stem of the flowerette is a light lime green with a purple head. No detraction from the good old taste of cauli. My method is to use compost, compost and more compost, then add some more compost. Sunlight is the trigger that makes the cauli purple. Dadpad's comment tells you how to keep your cauli from turning purple, once it has turned purple it is too late to turn back the clock. Happy Gardening.
04 Jun 15, dadpad (Australia - temperate climate)
Sounds like It could be the purple variety. Otherwise try to pull the leaves up around and over the fruiting body (really the flower) tie the leaves at the top to keep them in place covering the
26 May 15, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hello, I am in sub-tropical climate zone, have planted cauliflower, they start out lovely bright white, but are turning a purlply/ mauve colour, at first I thought it may be a mould of some sort, but this all started before any rain, also the florets seem to be separating a bit, the biggest ones are only a bit bigger than a squash ball . Any ideas would be appreciated, this is obviously my first crop! Thanks very much
28 Oct 14, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My cauliflower plants bolted to flower & seed after small heads formed. If I harvest the seed now (end October) and keep in paper bag is it likely to be viable to plant in March/April? I am in the subtropical zone.
24 Sep 14, Pinky (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Ok so after reading all of the above comments i can see that Cauliflowers are a "veteran gardeners vegetable", are there any fail safe guides for the beginners? Cheers.
19 Sep 14, Alan (Australia - arid climate)
Hi just a quick question, my cauliflower and brocolli are seperating as soon as they flower, some of my brocolli are going straight ti yellow flower, any suggestions greatly appreciated, oh they are in raised garden beds with garden mix soil with some cow manure. Thanks.
Showing 71 - 80 of 162 comments

I'm sub tropical and I don't even try to grow caulies. They need a cool cold climate. An agronomist told me the other week cauli, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce need it to be cool/cold to form a head. I have tried growing them but end up with huge leafy plants and no or little head, reason, over fertile soil. To really be on the ball on growing them you would have to have a soil test done, then a specific fertiliser would have to be applied. You may only have a small time window to plant them, say April to mid May. Talk to an agronomist in your area if you can.

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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