In this series I’m compiling the quick and dirty info on growing specific vegetables. Just the basics. No fluff, no frills. When you’re sitting down in the late Winter, surrounded by seed catalogs, and your garden plan in front of you, you want a quick reference. How far apart can you plant? What pH do they need? How much water? What vegetables can you plant next to others? Which should you avoid?

This quick and dirty 30 second guide to Cauliflower should help you answer all those questions quickly, without having to sort through article after article. I’ve always wanted a quick cheat sheet like this, so hopefully you’ll find it useful too!

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is not a particularly popular vegetable in the United States, but it should be! One cup of cooked cauliflower contains 73% of your daily recommended dose of Vitamin C, which is especially needed during cold and flu season, when cauliflower is in season.

In addition to Vitamin C, cauliflower contains an impressive amount of the phytonutrients: glucosinolates. Glucosinolates contain sulfur, and if you’ve read any of my other posts about sulfur-containing vegetables, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Dr. Terry Wahls.

Long story short, Dr. Terry Wahls was diagnosed with MS. She hit the research books and healed herself with food where modern medicine fell short. Her TED talk, Mind Your Mitochondria goes into more detail. Sulfur-containing foods help to heal the mitochondria in your cells which, in turn, help all of your cells work better.

So while this humble vegetable doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, you should try to find a place for it at your dinner table.

If you’re growing Cauliflower this year, here’s what you need to know:

Soil pH

6.6-6.8

Sunlight

4-6 hours

Water

1-1.5 inches per week

Planting Time

Direct sow 2-4 weeks before last frost

Compatible With

Beans, Celery, Oregano, Peas, Tomatoes

Avoid Planting With

Broccoli, Cabbage, Strawberries

Spacing

18-24 inches

Maintenance

Sensitive to stress. Cover heads with leaves to keep it white.

Harvesting Fruit

55-80 days.

Saving The Seeds

Like other plants in its family, cauliflower only produces seeds the second year of life. To harvest cauliflower seeds, let a few plants mature and go dormant over the Winter. Next summer they will bolt. Harvest the dried seed pods in a paper bag.