Fully grown cauliflower ready to be picked

I absolutely love cauliflower. Now who does not like cauliflower!!!! Its one of the most versatile, textural and yummy vegetables around. You may have it as a soup, as a paste, roasted, grilled, sauteed, baked and in curries. In some recipes it is even used raw as a substitute to grains. But then if you are not growing them organically you can’t really have it in as many ways. Because of the texture of the vegetable, pesticide easily get trapped in the vegetable and cant be washed off. Hence to enjoy a cauliflower without any dangerous side effects you need to grow them naturally. In this post I’ll guide you on Growing Cauliflowers in Pots easily at your own home.

Quick Reference Table for Growing Cauliflowers in Pots

Transplant one cauliflower sapling in 15-20 liter pot when you are growing cauliflowers in pots — Transplant one cauliflower sapling in 15-20 liter pot

Though cauliflowers comes in different colors like purple, orange and green now a days, the white variety is the most popular. The reference table below is for white variety, but it should work well for other varieties too. In the white variety you can choose between self blanching or non self blanching varieties. Blanching is a process of providing shade to the cauliflower head by tying the large leaves of the plant with a twine. This process makes sure that the head remains white and does not get discolored due to sunlight. The leaves of self blanching varieties automatically cover the head and hence no manual blanching is needed. When you are growing cauliflowers in pots in your terrace, where sunlight is plenty blanching is a must.

Item	Value
Growing Temperature	15 – 25 °C
Germination Temperature	20 – 30 °C
Germination Time	3 – 8 days
Soil pH	6 – 7 (slightly acidic to neutral)
Sunlight Need	Full sunlight
Preferred Planting Method	Transplanting is preferred over direct sowing
Container size	20 liter
Time to Harvest	50 – 70 days
Harvest Period	Needs to be harvested quickly as the buds start to mature very fast.
Pollination	Not Applicable
Typical Pests	Aphids, Cutworms, Cabbage Loopers
Best season to plant in India	Beginning of winter or anytime in winter providing sufficient growing time (at least 60 days)

Choosing Container for Cauliflowers

Cauliflower is a shallow rooted plant and hence does not need very deep containers. Any container with at least one feet depth works fine. So you can plant cauliflowers in an earthen pot, bucket or box type container. Among these box type of container works best as you can plant a few cauliflowers together and this leads to better utilization of space. Make sure to keep the distance between two plants to at least 15 inches, so that each plant has enough space to grow. But when you are growing cauliflowers in pots plant one sapling in 15-20 liter pot.

Seed Sowing and Transplanting

Cauliflower is a heavy eater plant. Hence make sure your potting mix is a really good one. While growing cauliflowers in pots, you can directly sow seeds in the pot. But germinating seeds in controlled condition, hardening the saplings and then transplanting works better. That is mainly due to two reasons. First starting seeds in controlled environment gives you better chance of success. You can even start seeds just before ideal temperature is reached in the garden. The other reason is to protect the plant from any soil borne disease that can affect young seedlings.

Seeds can be started in seed trays or paper cups. Sow the seeds about 1/4 inch deep in loose seed starting potting mix. Water properly and keep it as a warm place. Check moisture level everyday and spray water if soil starts to dry out. In about 3-4 days time the first seedlings will start to appear. Place the seedlings in a place where it can get enough sunlight after germination.

When the seedlings are about 4-6 weeks old, they can be transplanted. At this point thin the saplings to just one. Use a pair of scissors to cut out rest of the saplings. Make a hole in your pot so that the ball of the seedling can easily fit into it and then cover with soil and firm the soil lightly around the plant. Water the pot well and keep the pot in an area where it can get full sunlight.

Growing Cauliflowers in Containers

Blanching prevents discoloration of Cauliflower buds

Cauliflower needs moist soil especially during flowering. So never let your pot dry out. Check the moisture level in the soil regularly and water as necessary. While watering take care not to spill water on the cauliflower head. Water the plant from the sides. Cauliflower being a heavy feeder needs a rich potting mix to start with. When you are growing cauliflowers in pots its a good idea to supply them with extra nutrients. Hence about forty days after transplanting, you can supplement each plant with approximately half a liter of well decomposed compost. If you have planted a non self blanching variety its a good idea to cover your cauliflower with the large leaves kept in place by a clothes pin or a twine. It will protect cauliflower from discoloration due to sunlight.

Young plants are susceptible to attack from cutworms. If you find leaves of young plants eaten away, then check early in the morning for worms and remove them manually. Aphids also can attack cauliflower plants overnight. Its is a good idea to check under the leaves every morning for aphids. If you find them wash them off with a jet of water. You may also use neem oil based spray to get rid of Aphids.

Harvest time for Cauliflowers

Cauliflowers need to be picked when the heads are still firm and compact. When cauliflowers matures its heads start developing gaps between the buds. You need to pick them just before this happens. You can harvest cauliflowers when the head is around 6-8 inches in diameter. But when you are growing cauliflowers in pots organically you are going to get them in different sizes depending on the pot size, quality of potting mix and sunlight availability etc. So you need to keep a good watch on when they are ready to be picked.

Sometimes the heads lose their color due to sunlight if they have not been blanched. So if you see your cauliflowers turning a little purple pick them immediately. To harvest cauliflower cut the stem of the vegetable including a few leaves for protection. The leaves are also edible and can be cooked as any other green leaf as a stir fry or curry. And of course you can also enjoy your cauliflower in numerous ways. So just go for it. Grow your own cauliflower at home this cold season.

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