How to Grow Cauliflower
Cauliflower At a Glance
Difficulty
Challenging
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -4°C
Plant Family
Brassicaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Cauliflower handles light frost and hates having its roots disturbed, so sowing it right where it will grow is the gentlest start. Sow about 3 weeks before your last spring frost, or in early summer for a fall crop, which is often the best one. Sow 2 to 3 seeds 0.5 cm deep every 45 cm and cover lightly. They sprout in 5 to 10 days: keep the strongest seedling at each spot and snip off the others.
Cauliflower is the fussiest of the cabbage family: any stress, like a dry spell, a heat wave or a rough move, can make it form a tiny early head the size of a coin (gardeners call this buttoning). Give it steady water and food from start to finish and it rewards you with big, firm heads. A crop that ripens in the cool of fall is usually the easiest to get right.
When To Start
First chance to plant
45 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
60 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Cauliflower?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Cauliflower Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Cauliflower Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow cauliflower outdoors now, it handles light frost
3 weeks before your last frost· every year
Optional: start cauliflower indoors in small cells
5 weeks before your last frost· every year· optional
Plant indoor cauliflower out young and keep it watered
Around your last frost· every year· optional
Cut cauliflower while the head is tight and white
90 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your cauliflower seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your cauliflower is growing strong! Keep the soil evenly moist, since dry spells can stunt the head.
About 38 days after you plant it
Your cauliflower is heading up. When a small white head shows, fold leaves over it to keep it white.
About 67 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your cauliflower.
About 85 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Cauliflower's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
45 cm
Plant Spacing
60 cm
Row Spacing
1
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
Yes: Tower.
Method: Tower.
Succession Planting
Yes.
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–10 days
Growing Tips
- 1Give cauliflower full sun, at least 6 hours a day, with a little afternoon shade in hot spells.
- 2Mix plenty of compost into the soil before planting, since cauliflower is a hungry plant and needs rich, firm soil.
- 3Water deeply about once a week and never let the soil dry out, and lay mulch around the plants to keep the roots cool and moist.
- 4Feed with worm castings or compost tea every 3 weeks to keep growth steady.
- 5When the head is about the size of an egg, fold a few big leaves over it and tie them loosely, so the sun does not turn white heads yellow (coloured varieties do not need this).
- 6Cover young plants with row cover, because small white butterflies lay eggs that hatch into green caterpillars, and pick off any caterpillars you find under the leaves.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~85
Days to Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
60 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
Harvest head while tight and white
How to Harvest
- 1Cut cauliflower when the head is firm and tight, usually 15 to 20 cm across, about 1 to 2 weeks after you tie the leaves over it.
- 2Do not wait too long: once the head loosens and looks grainy, it gets tough and starts to flower.
- 3Use a sharp knife to cut the stem just below the head, keeping a few leaves around it to protect it.
- 4Unlike broccoli, cauliflower does not grow side shoots, so pull the plant afterward and add it to the compost.
- 5Store the head unwashed in a bag in the fridge for up to a week, or blanch (dip in boiling water for 3 minutes, then cold water) and freeze it.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Cauliflower is the hardest of the cabbage family to grow for seed, since it needs a long season to go from head to dry pods, so treat it as a fun project. It crosses with broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and collards, since they are all the same kind of plant, so let only one of them flower within about 800 m. Let at least 6 plants flower together, because a single plant does not pollinate itself well. Hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true, so save only from a variety that is not a hybrid. Leave the head to stretch into yellow flowers and then thin pods, pull the whole plant once most pods are brown and dry, and hang it somewhere dry to finish. Crush the pods in a bag, pick out the round seeds, and store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place for about 5 years.
Seed Production
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