How do cauliflower reproduce

If you seed, start 4 to 5 weeks before the last spring frost date. Water consistently during germination and growth. Transplant seedlings or small nursery plants 2 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date, no sooner and not much later. Set plants 18 to 24 inches apart with 30 inches between rows. In early spring, be ready to protect plants from frost by covering them with old milk jugs, if necessary.

Shade plants from heat, if necessary. Add mulch to conserve moisture. Cauliflower dislikes any interuption to its growth.

Change, in the form of temperature, moisture, soil nutrition, or insects, can cause the plants to develop a head prematurely or ruin an existing one. Water regularly with 2 inches of water each week; even with normal rainfall, this usually requires supplemental watering. For best growth, side-dress the plants with a high-nitrogen fertilizer 3 t o 4 weeks after transplanting. Note that the cauliflower will start out as a loose head and that it takes time for the head to fully form.

Many varieties take at least 75 to 85 days from transplant. Be patient! When the curd the white head is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, blanch it: Tie the outer leaves together over the head and secure with a rubber band, tape, or twine to keep light out. This is not necessary for self-blanching or colored varieties.

The plants are usually ready for harvest 7 to 12 days after blanching. Brown heads indicate a boron deficiency in the soil. Drench with 1 tablespoon of borax in 1 gallon of water. Avoid getting boron on other plants.

Or, provide liquid seaweed extract immediately; repeat every 2 weeks until symptoms disappear. In the future, add more compost to the soil. For white varieties, pink heds can indicate too much sun exposure or temperature fluctuations. Purple hues can be due to stress or low soil fertility. Aphids Black rot Caggage loopers Cabbage root maggots Cabbageworm : Nectar from dwarf zinnias lures in ladybugs and other predators that help to protect cauliflower from cabbageworms.

Plants are usually ready to harvest in about 50 to days, depending on variety, or 7 to 12 days after blanching. When the heads are compact, white, and firm, then it is time to harvest them. Ideally, the heads will grow to 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Cut the heads off the plant with a large knife. Be sure to leave some of the leaves around the head to keep it protected. If the heads are too small, but have already started to open up, they will not improve and should be harvested immediately.

If the cauliflower has a coarse appearance, it is past maturity and should be tossed. Storing Cauliflower Store heads in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They should last for about a week. For long-term storage, you can also freeze or pickle the heads. To freeze, cut into 1-inch-bite pieces. Blanch for 3 minutes in lightly salted water. Cool in an ice bath for 3 minutes, drain, and package.

Seal and freeze. Vegetable Gardener's Handbook. What do you want to read next? When to Harvest Vegetables and Vegetable Seedling Identification Protect Your Garden from Cabbage Vegetables to Grow in Shade. Root Cellars: Types and Storage Fall Vegetable Garden Planning Storing Your Harvest Without a Do I have news for you! I live in Phoenix too. Planted 6 cauliflower bedding plants in mid Nov last year First time ever I have tried to grow it.

After some lovely internet research, I discovered that people actually do eat the mature leaves and the bolted heads. They are either roasted in the oven with oil and spices, or used in stir fry applications.

I treated them like I do fried cabbage Diced half a large onion, chopped one of the sprangly bolted heads into 1in pieces, sauteed in bacon grease and a little butter, salt and pepper about min until it started to get some nice brown color on the edges, then added in about 10 of the big leaves coursely chopped and sauteed about more minutes until the leaves were wilted.

Freakin' Delicious!!!! Doesn't taste like cauliflower at all, somewhere more between mild broccoli and spinach taste. My new fave way to eat cauliflower!!!! So yes! We do need to rethink how we plant and harvest this plant!! How did I not know all these years about this great way to eat them???

Because they don't sell the mature leaves in grocery stores in this country!!! And I am leaving the plants in the ground to see what happens.

Assuming I can keep my hands off all the big tasty leaves! I know cabbages will send up new shoots; some say the smaller heads produced this way are more flavorful We will see I have 6 cabbages planted too!

Might have about one or two more months before it gets really hot. I live in phoenix it's now late March I harvested 6 nice califlower heads abut two weeks ago when I was removing the leaves for my compost pile I noticed new growth sprouting from the base of the main stocks i'll just leave them see what results I get? Purchased a cauliflower at the grocery store North Central NC.

I chucked the core into the trees in probably early february which has been unseasonably cold, plus rainy , and a month or so later I found it had sprouted plants on both ends of the core! Today I broke the core in half and planted the plants in my garden box.

Fingers crossed for free cauliflowers. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Does cauliflower produce secondary growth after the main harvest? Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 4 months ago. If you are like most gardeners, your cauliflower plants have never produced seeds.

Like other members of the brassica family, these bi-annuals only send up stalks in their second year. But getting them to bolt in a Mediterranean climate is easy, and the seeds they produce are specially adapted to thrive in your climate. It takes two growing seasons for a cauliflower to produce seeds. In the first, the plant makes the head. If the head is left unpicked, seed pods emerge from it the following summer.

To make that happen in a cold climate, you have to dig the plants in the fall, store them over winter and replant them in the spring. Mediterranean climate dwellers have it much easier. If your winter temperatures drop below freezing for several weeks -- but not below 28 degrees Fahrenheit -- you can plant cauliflowers in the fall and harvest seeds the next summer.

If your goal is to save cauliflower seeds, set aside at least six of your healthiest plants for the job -- more is even better. Their flowers are self-incompatible, meaning they reject any pollen they made themselves. By sowing a large stand of cauliflowers -- as many as 20 plants -- you provide bees with enough raw materials to cross-pollinate the flowers.