- Planting cauliflower: location and requirements
- When can you plant cauliflower?
- Sowing and growing cauliflower
- Procedure when planting out
- Cauliflower in mixed cultivation
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Cauliflower is known to many hobby gardeners as a demanding vegetable. But if you follow a few tips from the start, you will be richly rewarded.
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is a member of the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae) and slightly resembles in appearance Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). It is very digestible, contains many valuable nutrients, has a delicately aromatic taste and, like broccoli, the sprouts of cauliflower are eaten. We explain how to plant cauliflower yourself, which location is suitable in your garden and what you should look out for in the plant neighbours.
Planting cauliflower: location and requirements
Growing cauliflower is very demanding, but with a little patience and a sure instinct, you can grow the delicately flavored cruciferous vegetable yourself. Cauliflower is one of the most consuming vegetables. It is therefore important that you prepare a nutrient-rich location and ensure that there is sufficient water supply. Cauliflower loves warm and sunny places on sandy, loamy soil with a high humus content and good water supply.
Growing cauliflower in the garden
Cauliflower prefers full sun, but can also thrive in semi-shade. Before planting the cauliflower, thoroughly loosen up the bed or raised bed before planting the cauliflower. In addition, the soil should be enriched with compost or a primarily organic fertilizer such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer . This has a long-term effect and also ensures active soil life.
Cauliflower in Pot Plant
If you want to grow cauliflower plants in a pot, you need a deep pot with a diameter of at least 30 cm and good drainage. Cauliflower absolutely needs sufficient nutrients to grow well. Therefore, use a nutrient-rich soil such as our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil as a substrate and mix it with approx30 percent expanded clay to avoid waterlogging. Alternatively, you can also fill the bottom of the pot with an approximately 10 cm high drainage layer made of coarse material such as expanded clay or gravel. Our peat-free organic soil is also suitable for improving heavy, barren or too light garden soil.
When can you plant cauliflower?
If you want to grow cauliflower, you can buy it as a seedling or sow cauliflower. In the case of cauliflower plants from specialist dealers, the young plants can be placed in the bed in April. If you want to grow your cauliflower plants yourself, you should start doing so in a warm place as early as February. For summer cultivation, sow from the end of April to mid-May. Autumn cauliflowers for harvest from September can be sown from June.
There are now many different varieties of cauliflower - our article gives you an overview of cauliflower varieties for the garden.
Tip: If the outdoor conditions are good, direct sowing from mid-April can also be successful. However, this is not recommended, as the plants grow more evenly during pre-cultivation. They are also less prone to bolting prematurely and, as seedlings, are protected from cabbage pests.
Sowing and growing cauliflower
You can start sowing the cauliflower seeds in February. Depending on the amount you want to sow, seed plates or seed pots are suitable for this. In order for the seedlings to develop well, it is definitely necessary that you use nutrient-poor potting soil such as our Plantura organic herb and seed soil. This ensures that the roots develop better and you get a more robust plant. The seeds should be covered with a maximum of 5 mm of soil. After sowing the cauliflower, the optimal germination temperature is around 15 to 20 °C. The propagation period lasts two to three months if sown in February, and only a month if sown from April, before planting can begin. Transplant the young cauliflower plants into a nutrient-rich substrate such as our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil as soon as the first real leaf has formed. When it has developed the fourth leaf, the cauliflower can be planted.
From seed to adult plant - the most important things in brief:
- Prepare cauliflower from mid-February.
- Seeds only lightlycover, with a maximum of 5 mm of loose soil.
- Around 15 to 20 °C ensure optimal germination.
- Pour carefully and evenly, avoid waterlogging.
- Prick out after the first true leaf.
- You can plant the cauliflower from April to August.
Tip: If you like cauliflower, you can also plant romanesco cabbage. It is very similar to cauliflower, but has a slightly spicier taste.
Procedure when planting out
Before planting cauliflowers, it is necessary to harden off the young plants, especially when planting in April. To do this, you can place the plants outdoors in a frost-free, partially shaded place a week before planting out. The young plants should only be planted out when at least four leaves (in addition to the two cotyledons) have developed sufficiently. The cauliflower plants are usually planted between April and August. If frost is to be expected, it makes sense to cover the cauliflower with fleece, for example.
If you plant cauliflower, make sure that the soil of the young plant is moist and that it is planted completely in the bed. We also recommend a distance of 40 to 80 cm between the cauliflower plants so that they can develop freely on all sides.
Cauliflower in mixed cultivation
Not all plants are suitable for mixed cultivation when growing cauliflowers. Therefore, a list of suitable and unsuitable plant neighbors follows.
Suitable plant neighbors for cauliflower:
- Celery (Apium)
- Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
- Peas (Pisum sativum)
- Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
- Endive (Cichorium endivia)
- Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus)
- Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris)
Unsuitable plant neighbors for cauliflower:
- Onions (Allium cepa)
- Garlic (Allium sativum)
- All types of cabbage (Brassica)
Cauliflower should only be grown on the same bed every two to four years at most, so as not to exhaust the soil one-sidedly. In the cauliflower-free period, you should also not grow any other cabbage plants to avoid increasing the risk of soil-borne diseases such as clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae).
Of course, for many people, the best moment after a successful crop is the harvest. You can find out how best to do this and how you can extend the enjoyment of your own harvest in our special article on cauliflower harvesting and storage.