Cauliflower and Broccoflower
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Cauliflower and Broccoflower
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow cauliflower and broccoflower in the accompanying table’s tabs:
-
- How many cauliflower and broccoflower to plant
- Growing conditions for cauliflower and broccoflower
- When to plant cauliflower and broccoflower
- How to plant cauliflower and broccoflower
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning cauliflower and broccoflower
- Companion plantings for cauliflower and broccoflower
- How to harvest, store, and use cauliflower and broccoflower
Growing Cauliflower and Broccoflower
Cauliflower and brococoflower are half-hardy, cool-season vegetables. Broad-leaved plants, 18–24 in. (45–60 cm) tall and wide, with headlike, tightly formed, curd-shaped, edible, cream, green, purple, white clusters consisting of immature flowers. Cauliflower and broccoflower are cole-family vegetables.
Broccoflower is a cauliflower-broccoli hybrid, bears green, broccoli-like heads, and tastes similar to cauliflower. Normal and fast-maturing cultivars are available. [See also: Broccoli and Broccolini].
Cauliflower Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 2–4 plants per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 8–10 days.
Average Climates: Set out seedlings in indirect sun–partial shade in early spring–midsummer when soil warms to 65–85°F (18–29°C).
Mild‑Winter Climates: Set out seedlings or sow seed directly outdoors after heat has broken in autumn–winter.
Autumn–Winter Gardens: Sow seed from May–July or transplants from June–August for harvest in late summer, autumn, or spring.
Sow seed 1/2-in. (12-mm) deep, 1 in. (25 mm) apart, thinning to 15–24 in. (38–60 cm) apart, in rows 2–3 ft. (60–90 cm) apart.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 60–65°F (16–18°C). Best in mild, humid climates. Bolts in temperatures over 85°F (29°C) and when daylight hours lengthen in summer; provide shade-cloth protection in hot, arid climates, or plant in autumn.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep. Rotate plantings with legumes to avoid nitrogen depletion.
Proper Care
Moderate. Keep evenly moist; avoid wetting foliage. Apply ample water during the head-development stage. Fertilize monthly with 5–10–10 formula. Mulch. Cultivate. Blanch to ensure white heads by loosely tying leaves over developing heads when 2 in. (50 mm) wide, or choose self-blanching cultivars. Aphid, cabbage looper, cabbageworm, cutworm, root maggot and powdery mildew susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Beets, celery, herbs, onions, and potatoes.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
70–120 days; 55–80 days for seedlings. Cut heads from basal stalk when firm and 4–8 in. (10–20 cm) wide. After harvesting, soak broccoflower heads for 3–5 minutes in 1 qt. (1.1 l) lukewarm water mixed with 1/4-cup (60 ml) vinegar and 2 tbsp. (30 mg) salt to remove pests, then rinse and dry.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 2–3 weeks; blanched and frozen, 3–4 months; brined and canned or pickled, 1 year. Cauliflower florets can be eaten raw as crudités with dip or as a salad vegetable, steamed with butter or cream sauces to accompany meat dishes, or used as a flavoring and filler for soups, stews, and casseroles.