Blanching – This technique is used to cause the cauliflower to be whiter and have a sweeter flavor; As
soon as the heads are teacup sized, gather the leaves up over the head and tie them gently with a string.
Do this on a dry day after the dew has dried so that there is not excessive moisture on the buds trapped
inside the tied up leaves, which can cause rot. Also make sure no caterpillars, slugs or insects are on
the heads when you tie them up under the leaves.
Do not blanch colored varieties of cauliflower. Blanching is thought to reduce the nutritional value of the
cauliflower as it deprives the heads of sunlight. Some prefer unblanched cauliflower which becomes
greenish or purplish and has a stronger but not unpleasant flavor.
After blanching, continue caring for the plant as normal, occasionally removing the leaves around the head to
monitor its growth and allow moisture to escape after watering.
Water consistently, providing 1 – 1.5 inches (2.5 – 3.75 cm) of water per week.
Cauliflower plants need consistent access to moisture and nutrients or their growth won’t be consistent.
If the plants’ growth isn’t consistent, the final product that you eat won’t have as good of taste or texture.
After planting your cauliflower plants, ensure that each receives frequent watering so that its soil is consistently damp (but not waterlogged). The moisture should be penetrating roughly 6 inches (15.2 cm) deep.
Note that rainfall can contribute towards this watering goal. Thus, if you experience frequent rainfall you will
need to water less.
Weeding Needs & Solutions: Although cauliflower should be kept fairly free of weeds, they benefit
from nitrogen fixing weeds such as clover, vetch and lambs quarters.
You may also apply seaweed extract to supply boron, an
important nutrient. If cauliflower doesn’t have access to boron, an essential nutrient, it will begin to
experience a variety of unappealing symptoms. Its head will turn brown, its leaf tips will die and its leaves
will distort, and its stem may become hollow and brown. To treat this problem, boron must be introduced
into the plant’s soil immediately. Feed the plant with seaweed extract immediately and repeat every two
weeks until symptoms disappear.
Use a technique called side-dressing to feed the maturing plant. Dig a shallow, narrow furrow parallel to
each row of plants about 6 to 8 inches away from the plants’ stems. Pour well rotted compost and or
manure into this furrow, rake the soil, and then water.
Deer Love Cauliflower. In areas with deer, put a fence around your garden. To save on the cost of
building an extremely high fence, put a regular fence and add willow boughs or pvc piping to create the
effect of archways all along the top of your fence. It has an interesting visual appearance when done
well, and deer will rarely jump over or through an archway, especially if they have antlers. Another
strategy is to put a fence or trellis in an angle. Deer will not jump a fence where they can’t gauge the
width. An arched tunnel made with heavy duty ranch wire up against one end of the garden will make
that a spot that deer cannot jump and provide an attractive growing space for climbing vegetables such
as cucumber or gourds which are not a favorite for deer. They don’t like getting their legs tangled up in
scratchy vines. A pumpkin patch just outside the fence will also help for that reason. Deer are not interested in tomatoes or jerusalem artichokes so rows of those just outside the garden fence might confound deer. Raised beds along the garden fence will also throw deer off jumping as it makes it difficult for them
to gauge a clear landing.
When cauliflower seedlings are young and fragile, they are vulnerable to a variety of garden pests, including cabbage worm, aphids, harlequin bugs, and more. This especially true in cases where cauliflower is being planted as a spring crop, as the end of the winter months usually coincide with a surge in insect
populations. Staggering your plantings and planting cauliflower in more than one patch on different
ends of your garden helps. Aromatic herbs such as coriander will help repel insects.
Nontoxic pest treatments include Jadam techniques, diatomaceous earth, soap sprays, and cultural practices such
as controlling humidity or introducing predator insects such as ladybugs for aphids.
As with cabbage, cauliflower is loved by caterpillars and slugs. Slug traps in the garden will be needed. Dusting
with ashes helps repel rabbits and deters slugs.
Row covers can help keep flying insects off your cauliflower.
Clubroot is a fungal infection that causes large growths on the roots of plants in the family Brassicaceae (which includes cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and other plants). These root growths interfere with the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients, causing it to grow asymmetrically, wilt, and eventually die. Worst of all is the fact that clubroot is contagious and can easily spread from plant to plant. To prevent a case of clubroot from ruining your entire cauliflower crop, swift, aggressive action must be taken. Pull infected plants up by their roots and discard them (don’t compost them).
Be sure to remove the entire root system – any fungus left in the ground can release spores and continue spreading.
To prevent clubroot from returning, use one of the following methods:
Improve the drainage of your soil by adding organic matter(clubroot thrives in moist environments).
Plant a cover crop of winter rye and till it into your soil before planting cauliflower.
Rotate your crops. Do not plant brassicas or in the same area two years in a row.
Increase the alkalinity of your soil by mixing in hydrated lime in the fall (clubroot thrives in acidic soils)
Lay thin sheets of clear, construction-grade plastic over infected soil during sunny weather. Leave in
place for 1 – 1.5 months. The plastic acts as a sort of “greenhouse”, trapping the sun’s rays to heat the
soil and kill the fungus.
Another common fungal disease of cauliflower is blackleg. Blackleg causes irregular grey lesions or
holes in the leaves andis sometimes accompanied by root rot. Like clubroot, this disease is difficult to
treat, so preventative cures are the best bet. In particular, crop rotation is an effective technique for reducing the chance of blackleg. Don’t plant cauliflower (or another member of the Brassicaceae family) in the same location more than one year in a row – this gives any remaining blackleg fungus in the
growing site a year to die off. Additionally, in the event of blackleg, remove all plant debris left over after
aharvest. This dead or dying plant material can contain live fungi for months, leading to the re-infection
of the next crop.
If you have any doubts about whether certain seeds are contaminated with the fungus or not, washing
the seeds in hot water can help remove the fungus prior to planting.
