Successfully growing Cauliflower is best accomplished in soil that has a pH level of 6.5

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When growing cauliflower remember it is a cool crop. Yes, cool in that it is delicious but it also needs from 55-100 days with temperatures that are consistently cool to allow it to be the optimum for harvesting. The seeds can be purchased from the Internet, at your local gardening shop and from nurseries.

Planting Cauliflower

Seeds may be started indoors up to 10 weeks before frost is due to be over. Planting in the ground can be as early as 6 weeks before the danger of frost is over. If the temperature of the soil is between 65 and 75 degrees, cauliflower may be seeded right into the soil.

This is contingent upon the temperatures remaining fairly cool. The transplanted cauliflower will be ready in about 80 days and the type seeded directly into the gardening soil takes about 120 days.

Successfully growing Cauliflower is best accomplished in soil that has a pH level of 6.5 to 8.0. The soil should be rich and one that will drain well while still retaining water. Cauliflower should be grown where it will receive full sun. Ready the soil for planting by adding compost that has aged.

Adding compost to the side about midway through the growing season will allow the soil to remain rich enough to support the growing cauliflower. The ground should never be allowed to dry out around the plants.

Planting other vegetables around Cauliflower will not hurt as long as it is not tomatoes, pole beans or strawberries. The best ones for planting with cauliflower are celery, onions, herbs, beets and potatoes. The area should be weeded regularly.

Pests

Some known pests of Cauliflower are cabbage loppers, cutworms and imported cabbage worms. The best way to keep the pests away from the cauliflower plants is to use a spray called Bacillus thuringiensis or by hand picking the pests. The use of mesh to cover the plants will also help to keep the pests away.

Diseases

One of the diseases cauliflower is prone to develop is root rot. This is usually noticed by the leaves turning yellow. The best way to avoid this is to plant varieties that are resistant to this disease. You should also avoid handling wet plants. If you notice this problem in any of your cauliflower plants, remove them to keep the other plants from developing the same problems. If the heads become brown you may have downy mildew. This is a problem that occurs when the weather is cool and wet.

Harvesting

When it is time to harvest (usually from 55 to 100 days) the heads should be about 6 to 8 inches around. This is under optimum growing conditions. The head should be white, solid and firm. The whole head may be cut from the stem. The use of the leaves for cooking as you would collard greens or cabbage is another use for the cauliflower plant.

Farmer's Extra-Early Cauliflower Fine-beaded heads of snow-white color.

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