My soil has very low phosphorus but with additions I have not had the problem before. Phosphorus and potassium are the key nutrients to track for fruiting so keep an eye on both of those. Hello Christy, I planted my cauliflower in late May and has grown so big and plenty of leaves but no head. I have about 15 of them in garden bed and pot but non of them has had. Should I just get rid of it? It has been 5 months now. Thank you, Adeline.
Be sure to feed them phosphorus and potassium to help them bud. They have leafed out and are huge, however, no heads. I see there is a lot saying cauliflower is a cooler weather plant. Could they still possibly develop heads or is it too late? Feed it regularly because as mentioned in the article this is usually a problem related to nutrient deficiency. Some plnat has 3. That is odd, Pratap. Not normal for cauliflower, unless maybe the center head was eaten away by a critter first?
My cauliflower has no head but massive leaves, plant growing up to 3 feet. Can I eat these leaves? You can eat the leaves of most brassicas. They are usually pretty tough though. Cut them small and cook them well and they should work nicely. Great thread very informative!
My cauliflower has flowered, can I cut back? Will it reproduce a second time? Unfortunately cauliflower is not really like broccoli. You could try growing that cauliflower again in autumn and see if they do better over winter and into early spring. Feed, feed, feed them! That will help. Valerie, three plants in one part of the garden, nothing but leaves, the other three in another part and planted at the same time, small heads….
Good day, I put down six cauliflower seedings approximately weeks ago and they have already developed heads. The leaves are not very large. Is this normal? I have grown cauliflower in the past and they usually take 6 to 8 weeks before you see the head. Stressed plants send up a flower stalk to procreate before dying. Test your soil for the big 3: Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Cauliflower wants cold weather to develop a head, but first as you have experienced in the past the leaves grow large before setting a head. If you had sudden hot weather or really cold weather before the leaves could develop, that can be a contributing factor to the stunted growth.
Imbalances in the soil may result in inadequate nutrient uptake, resulting in stress that may cause failure to form heads. While cauliflower uses a good bit of it to grow, too much of this macronutrient is known to cause excess foliage production.
Therefore, if you fertilize your vegetables, you should choose a slow-release type in which the ratio of N is slightly less than the P and K components. A soil test also determines pH, and serves as a measure of acidity or alkalinity. For cauliflower, the pH should be neutral to slightly acidic, or about 6. You may increase acidity with the addition of rich organic matter, or decrease it with an application of garden lime. While cauliflower requires consistent moisture, it should never stand in a puddle.
Its roots need to take what they require to nourish the plant and let the rest drain away. Poorly draining soil leaves roots vulnerable to nibbling nematodes, slugs, and snails that can impair the ability of the plant to take up water and nutrients. In addition, these insects may spread diseases to weakened plants. This veggie is one of the thirstier ones. It needs one to two inches of water each week, so get yourself a rain gauge to monitor rainfall, and prepare to supplement as needed.
With some vegetables, you can get away with keeping them moist during the germination and seedling phases, and then let Mother Nature provide the rain they need.
But this is not so with cauliflower. Wind may accelerate moisture evaporation as well. So, if the weather forecast is a gusty one, protect plants with well-anchored floating row covers. When transplanting seedlings, space them out with 24 inches between plants, and 30 to 36 inches between rows. This allows for ample airflow and root formation, essentials for healthy growth.
Circulating air stays cooler and less humid, helping to inhibit fungal diseases that are detrimental to cole crop development. Roots that can spread without competition from neighbors are better able to hydrate and nourish a plant. In addition to meeting light, soil, water, drainage, temperature, and spacing requirements, cauliflower growers need to be vigilant about keeping weeds to a minimum. Thick weed growth creates competition for water, and invites insects who can hide out and be near their favorite vegetable at the same time.
Please consult our article on growing cauliflower for details on how to manage common pests and diseases , as they can cause enough stress to result in failure to form heads. Growing vegetables feed on soil throughout the growing season, depleting its nutrients. Changing locations from season to season allows soil to replenish. As an added bonus, it also helps to keep pests and disease at bay.
Depending on the variety, cauliflower needs between 50 and growing days to be harvest-ready. Best practices like using seed appropriate for your region, growing under floating row covers, maintaining even moisture, weeding, and spacing plants per seed packet instructions for proper air flow also help to minimize potential insect and disease damage that may lead to buttoning.
An ideal head is a compact group of florets with tight curds, whereas one that is stressed in its growing environment may split into separate sections. A wet spell during the final maturation stage can cause this to happen, as head splitting is often the result of too much moisture that leads to a growth spurt. Waiting too long to harvest a crop can also cause splitting, when heads continue to mature past their peak and begin to separate.
Plants need Adjust your supplemental watering schedule accordingly when rain is predicted. Use your best judgment at harvest time. If heavy rain is predicted, it may be better to have slightly smaller heads than larger, split ones.
The inner leaves turn brown on the edges, and the discoloration often spreads to the florets. The stressed plant then becomes vulnerable to disease.
A soil test is the best way to evaluate the nutrient content of soil before planting. Test reports indicate remediation methods, such as the application of lime. Be vigilant when it comes to the weather, and anticipate a spike in temperatures by using shade cloth to block intense UV rays.
Limit nitrogen fertilization during the reproductive stage, as it promotes foliar growth. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst , too much nitrogen can cause the outer leaves to accumulate calcium, leaving less available for the younger, developing leaves.
Instead of tightly packed florets, they may be somewhat loose, with foliage protruding between them. A spike in temperature, or waiting beyond maturity to harvest, may stimulate vegetative growth where there should only be reproductive growth. Instead of classic smooth florets, sometimes a plant produces curds with elongated flower parts called peduncles, which detract from the overall appearance of the head.
If the temperature spikes during the reproductive stage, stress can cause developmental alterations. The soil may contain excess nitrogen, perhaps from over-fertilization. Provide consistent moisture to minimize growth spurts and limit supplemental water during wet spells. Read more about preventing ricing here.
If so, you need to cover the heads so that they are not exposed to sunlight—this is called blanching. You can cover the developing head with leaves and pin then in place with a clothespin. Many varieties of cauliflower are genetically purple, red, or blue pigmentation. Too much direct sunlight will cause heads to get a purplish tinge along the edges of the heads.
You can still eat these head but the taste might not be just right and cooking can only increase the off flavor; so eat them raw. My cauliflower heads grow well until they are about 10cm in diameter. The florets then seem to separate and become long and stringy. What can I do? Uneven cauliflower heads—gaps between the curds—can be caused by uneven water uptake—the soil drys then gets soaked.
Keep the soil evenly moist, watering as soon as the top inch or so is dry. Uneven heads can still be used. Keep an eye on the plants every day once heads form. A heat spell can also cause curds to separate—temperatures higher than 85F.
Like Jodi, I have the same problem. My plants are on raised flats. Cauliflower is very particular about its growing temperature—optimal temperatures are in the mid 60sF to low 70sF; too warm or too cold and head may not form. If you cut the growing tip—at the top of the plant, new growing tips will emerge, but if heads form there they will be smaller than if the main growing tip produces a head.
Give the plants a organic fertilizer—do not give them high nitrogen. You can also side dress with compost tea. Yes, black mold can grow in cauliflower heads.
It may also be collected dust that will wash away. One solution is to draw up leaves surrounding newly formed heads and tie or use a rubberband to hold the leaves in place to protect the white flowerhead from moisture which can lead to mold growth.
You may be able to slice away the black mold and still cook the cauliflower. Large cauliflower plants with no heads is likely caused by excess nitrogen; if you used fertilizer on the plants this season check to see what the NPK ratio was and if it was high in nitrogen 10 or greater ; use a low nitrogen fertilizer such as next season. Hot or dry weather during the growing time also could have resulted in no heading. But you got 4 heads out of 12 and considering cauliflower is very finicky count the season a success.
It is unlikely the plants will head following frost, but if you are not in a hurry to clear the planting bed let them sit for another 3 or 4 weeks and see if anything develops.
If weather is cold and staying cold, go ahead and compost the plants. Would this be more likely a rodent, bird or rabbit. All plants now only have a small stem left. Will they still grow or do I have to pull them out and start new. And invest in netting to stop it happening again. The young broccoli and cauliflower seedlings were likely stripped of their leaves by earwigs, snails, slugs, or perhaps cutworms. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the seedlings as a barrier to these pests.
You can also place a paper or styrofoam cup around each seedling remove the bottom of the cup this will also act as a barrier. If you suspect birds, place a floating row cover of horticultural cloth over the planting bed and tuck and edges into the soil; you can lift the cover to water. Once plants are 6 inches or so tall birds will leave them alone.
If you suspect rodents or rabbits, sprinkle a garlic or pepper repellant around the plants. A bunny got into my garden and decided to eat all the leafs off of my cauliflower plants. I can see the tiny little heads starting to show. What can I do to cover the heads to protect them from the sun since there are no leafs to tie around the head? Cauliflower is very sensitive to its environment. Extreme cold, heat, or drought, can result in malformation of the head, or curd. If the curds are loose or sending up sprouts between the curds, the problem is likely weather too warm cauliflower likes cool temperatures—not much warmer than 70F.
Make sure your plants are getting consistent moisture and are not going drying. You can put shade cloth over the planting bed to shield plants from midday sun and heat. Make sure there is ample room between plants; do not plant cauliflower close to one another. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers which can cause sprouts to spring up. The curd of your cauliflower will still be edible. Cauliflower is in- YAY but today I noticed some of the white heads are turning a tan brown color- help….
The browning of cauliflower curds is caused by oxidation—exposure to air. This is a natural occurrence. Keep the cauliflower heads unwashed and uncut until you are ready to use them. Wash and cut just before you serve. Store the heads curd or crown side down in a perforated or unsealed plastic bag; they should keep for five days. Use them fresh cut within five days. If you are not going to use the cauliflower within five days blanch and freeze.
Cut the head into 1-inch sections and then add the pieces to boiling water with salt and few tablespoons of lemon juice; boil for 3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, and dunk them in ice water for a minute to cool; let the pieces drain in a colander thoroughly before freezing. In the garden, before harvest, lift leaves over the head to cover the curds and use a clothespin to keep the leaves in place so the curds are not exposed to sunlight—which also can cause mature curds to brown.
I planted cauliflower seeds in the greenhouse then transplanted them outdoors, after 30 days they started to develop heads. The label says they are Arizona F1, but I think they are not. What should I do to delay head development? They are too small to be growing heads. Cauliflower is very sensitive to environmental conditions including temperature, water, and nitrogen in the soil.
Buttoning is the term for early curd development in cauliflower. It is caused by stress. The optimal temperature for growing cauliflower is in the 50s and 60F.
Buttons can develop if the temperature is too high greater than 80F or too low below 50F. Buttons can develop if plant roots do not stay just moist—if they become dry. Cool temperatures and a moist atmosphere are most favorable for cauliflower curd head development. Lack of leaves on seedlings at transplant time can cause buttoning lack of leaves may be due to lack of nitrogen in the soil.
The age of the plant is also a factor in curd development; seedlings that are too old at the time of transplanting and seedlings that have not developed leaves to support the head lack of nitrogen in the soil can result in a higher frequency of buttoning. Once buttoning occurs there is little that can be done to reverse the natural progression of head development—even if the head will be small.
Sidedress the plants with a low nitrogen fertilizer to encourage leaf development; harvest the small heads before the curds begin to separate. Thanks Steve. But I think my problem is something else. Is there any way to send u some pic of them? You can send pictures to stephen harvesttotable. All the leaves and the stems are healthy except for the strange curve at the soil line. The roots seem strong but when a breeze blows, the whole top moves.
What is the underlying issue? The curling cauliflower stem is unusual but not unheard of. You can mound soil up around the exposed stem, but more importantly, you might want to give the plant some support by place 2 or 3 stakes around the plant and tying it in with horticultural tape.
This will keep it from being blown over by the wind. Alternatively, you can erect a windbreak to protect the plant. I thought cauliflower started out white, and had to be covered in order to remain white. Is the green just a different variety, or is this how they start out? If it is a green variety, do I still need to cover the heads?
You may have a plant called broccoflower which is a variant of cauliflower with a green head. Broccoflower or green cauliflower heads do not need to be covered unless you want to protect them from rain or wind. White cauliflower heads are covered to blanch the florets snow white.
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