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.

What People Are Saying About Us

Uday SahuAtmaram Chain of Hotels and Restaurants
I had been planting the odd vegetables in my terrace without real success. But last year I started taking consultation from Prabal of http://organicterrace.in and things have completely changed since then. Not only I learned proper ways of growing vegetables in containers, the passion of Prabal was so inspiring that in approximately 3 months I had a full fledged vegetable garden on my terrace. I also managed to get free giveaways of eggplant, tomato saplings by organicterrace.in, which helped me to build my garden faster. Huge thanks again to organicterrace and Prabal.
Hemant Kumar JenaTerritory Manager, BPCL
Being a plant lover it was a coincidence that I happened to visit organic terrace garden developed by Mr.Prabal Mallick. The varieties of vegetables grown in healthy plants was attraction as well as inspiration for me.I was amazed with the taste of raw vegetables like beans, carrot, cherry tomato, lettuce etc. I spent more than 2 hours in Prabal's garden, got inspired and started developing a small terrace garden in my home. Now, I spend my mornings in my terrace garden filled with different flowers and vegetables. I and my family enjoy the taste and sweetness of healthy and fresh vegetables. I am really thankful to Mr.Prabal for his systematic guidance and conviction towards organic urban farming which helped me develop my garden.Now even I am passionate about organic farming and planning to go into full scale organic farming as my post retirement plan. Thanks to Prabal, thanks to Organic Terrace. I wish both bright future.
Shweta NarulaNarula Restaurant, Bhubaneswar
The reliability of and emphasis on organic fertilizers such as compost, green manure as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is the need of the hour. With increasing number of diseases and ill health of people, consumption of organically grown fruits and vegetables will contribute largely towards well being of all. Prabal's workshop on organic urban farming is an ideal platform to learn and utilize the methods of preparing organic materials, residues, nutrients and recycling them. Very interesting and knowledge enhancing workshop. Must do.
G JagadishFormer LIC Officer
The "Organic Urban Farming Crash Course" organised by Sri.Prabal Mallik, Founder, Organic Terrace and Ms.Shweta Agarwal, Director, Paz Farming has come to my fortunes at the right time when I was in need of it the most.

I knew that my desire was ripe to start my own terrace vegetable garden but was unsure of how to start one. I came to the program with almost zero gardening experience. Thanks to Prabal Babu and Madam Shweta for making the aspirants like me learn most of the latest skills in organic terrace gardening. Now with this 21-day course I feel that I am thoroughly equipped having bestowed with the right knowledge, skills, abilities and confidence to start a successful "terrace garden" and "open land farming" as well.

My sincere thanks with whole lot of appreciations go to the duo for a splendid academic exposure clubbed with hand-holding guidance.
I wish OT n PF all success in their future endeavors.
Susmita PaniFormer Reader in English at Ravenshaw University, Freelance ELT Consultant
Attending the three-week organic urban farming workshop, organized by Paz Farming and Organic Terrace was a revelation. Both Shweta and Prabal are extremely knowledgeable, competent and exude confidence that comes from experience. They are keen, dedicated, helpful and more than willing to share information. The wonderful team created a climate of collegiality among all of us who ranged from 20 to 60 years. It was a genuinely interactive and participatory workshop where we covered a wide gamut of topics through hands on practice. Anyone who has the slightest interest in environment and organic farming must attend this workshop.
VanshitaStudent at KIIT International School
Our generation really needs to understand and appreciate the skill of growing one's own food. It is important for each of us to have the knowledge and skill to do so. Urban Farming course with Shweta Di and Prabal sir was of the eye opener experiences of my life. Not only did I understand the actual importance, but also got to know that urban farming is not so tedious if done correctly. I would suggest every student of my age to take up these courses in order to become independent and responsible in life. If we grow what we need it will be a two fold benefit. First there would be minimum or no wastage and second we'll consume minimum chemicals. Being self sufficient has always been a goal in my life and this course has helped me to take a huge step towards my goal. Both Prabal sir and Shweta Di are very helpful and interactive which made the experience and learning interesting and fruitful.
Nikky PujariChicago, Illinois
The Organic Terrace blog is well researched, simple to follow and written by someone who is not just passionate about growing organic vegetables but very experienced in all of its facets. I followed instructions on tomato growing and immediately saw results - 13 big, red, sun-ripened organically grown tomatoes on a 10 inch container..wish I could attend the workshop too. Love the blog!