Cauliflower Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Blanching | Pests | Companions | Varieties | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Cauliflower:

• Start indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost for spring crop.
• For fall crop (best in Michigan!), start seeds in June-July.
• Space plants 18-24 inches apart in rows 2-3 feet apart.
• Transplant when plants have 4-5 true leaves.
• Sunlight: Full sun (6+ hours) but appreciates afternoon shade in summer.
• Soil Type: Rich, well-drained soil with pH 6.0-7.0.
• Soil Amendment: Heavy feeder – needs nitrogen-rich, fertile soil.

Cauliflower is the fussiest brassica – it demands consistent conditions for perfect heads!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Optimal 60-65°F. Bolts above 80°F. More sensitive than other brassicas.

• Best growth: Consistent 60-70°F temperatures.
• Spring challenge: Fluctuating temperatures cause buttoning (tiny heads).
• Heat stress: Above 80°F causes poor head formation or bolting.
• Frost tolerance: Mature plants tolerate light frost to 25°F.
• Needs 2 months of cool weather for proper head formation.

Michigan’s hot summers make fall cauliflower much more reliable than spring!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical – stress causes poor heads or buttoning.
• Watering: 1-1.5 inches weekly, never let dry out.
• Mulch: 3 inches to maintain even soil temperature and moisture.
• Fertilizer: Side-dress 3 weeks after transplanting with nitrogen.
• Steady growth: Any stress results in small or no heads!

📏 Harvest Signs:

Heads 6-8 inches, compact, white. Harvest before flowers separate.

• Size: Heads typically 6-8 inches diameter when ready.
• Appearance: Tight, compact curds with no separation.
• Color: Bright white (or appropriate color for variety).
• Timing critical: Can go from perfect to ricey in 2-3 days!
• Check daily once heads start forming – they mature quickly.

Unlike broccoli, cauliflower won’t produce side shoots – you get one chance!

🧺 Harvesting:

Cut deep with sharp knife. Leave wrapper leaves for protection. Morning harvest best.

• Cut 4-6 inches below head to include protective leaves.
• Handle carefully – heads bruise easily.
• Harvest promptly – overripe heads become ricey and bitter.
• One shot: Unlike broccoli, no secondary harvest.
• Cool quickly for best quality and storage.

🌿 Blanching:

Tie leaves over head when 2-3 inches diameter. Self-blanching varieties available.

• When: Start when heads are egg-sized (2-3 inches).
• Method: Gather outer leaves and tie with soft twine or rubber band.
• Purpose: Protects from sun to maintain white color.
• Check often: Heads mature 7-12 days after tying.
• Alternative: Choose self-blanching varieties with leaves that naturally curl.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Cabbage worms, aphids, flea beetles, clubroot.

• Cabbage worms: Most common – use Bt spray or row covers.
• Aphids: Gray-green clusters in heads – blast with water.
• Flea beetles: Tiny holes in leaves – use row covers on young plants.
• Clubroot: Soil disease – rotate crops, maintain pH above 7.0.
• Black rot: V-shaped yellowing – remove affected plants.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Good with onions, garlic, dill, chamomile. Avoid strawberries, tomatoes.

• Onions and garlic: Repel many brassica pests.
• Dill: Attracts beneficial wasps that prey on cabbage worms.
• Nasturtiums: Trap crop for aphids.
• Avoid strawberries: Compete for nutrients.
• Keep away from: Other brassicas to prevent disease spread.

🥦 Varieties:

‘Snow Crown’, ‘Amazing’, ‘Cheddar’, ‘Graffiti’, ‘Romanesco’.

• ‘Snow Crown’: 50 days, early, heat tolerant, self-blanching.
• ‘Amazing’: 75 days, large heads, good for fall.
• ‘Cheddar’: 80 days, orange heads high in beta-carotene.
• ‘Graffiti’: 80 days, purple heads, no blanching needed.
• ‘Romanesco’: 85 days, spiral fractals, nutty flavor.

🫙 Preservation:

Freeze blanched 3 minutes. Pickle. Fresh 1-2 weeks.

• Fresh storage: Wrap in plastic, refrigerate 1-2 weeks.
• Freezing: Cut florets, blanch 3 minutes, cool, freeze.
• Pickling: Makes excellent pickled vegetables.
• Dehydrating: Rice first, then dehydrate for “cauliflower rice.”
• Not recommended: Canning turns mushy.

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Roasted cauliflower, cauliflower rice, buffalo cauliflower, mashed cauliflower.

• Whole roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce.
• Cauliflower rice – low-carb alternative to grain.
• Buffalo cauliflower “wings” for game day.
• Creamy cauliflower soup with sharp cheddar.
• Indian aloo gobi (cauliflower and potato curry).

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Fall crops far superior to spring in Michigan!
• Start fall crop in late June for October harvest.
• Use row covers entire season for pest control.
• Michigan’s variable spring weather causes buttoning.
• Choose quick-maturing varieties for spring attempt.
• Raised beds help with temperature consistency.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Cauliflower is actually an undeveloped flower head!
• Originally came in colors – white was selectively bred.
• The word means “cabbage flower” in Italian.
• One cup has 77% of daily vitamin C needs.
• Romanesco cauliflower displays perfect Fibonacci spirals.
• Mark Twain called it “cabbage with a college education.”
• Orange cauliflower has 25x more vitamin A than white.
• Purple varieties contain the same antioxidants as red wine!