![]() ![]() The good news is they can usually be avoided by practicing crop rotation, ensuring adequate spacing of plants and keeping plants well fed and watered. There are numerous other diseases (like various rusts, rots and leaf spots) that can develop and be difficult to control once they take hold. Prevent this with good soil preparation before planting, correcting soil pH (if needed) and regular applications of OCP eco-aminogro throughout the growing period. Nutrient deficiency can cause poor head formation and hollow stems.Grow at the right of time year for your location and apply OCP eco-seaweed regularly to help plants cope with heat stress. For example, if you live in a warmer climate, you may want to choose a variety that takes less time to mature, such as an Early White or an Early Snowball. Environmental conditions (usually related to hot spells) can play havoc with cauliflowers causing plants to not form proper heads or to bolt to seed. Choose the Right Variety When selecting cauliflower seeds for your garden, it’s important to choose the right variety for your climate.Where possible increase airflow around the plants as well. Powdery mildew - sometimes seen on cauliflowers and can be treated with an organic fungicide. Snails and slugs - protect young seedlings with OCP eco-shield otherwise you'll quickly be left with bare stalks!.Aphids can transmit a virus that stunts cauliflower growth so act quickly. Keep an eye out and regularly pick them off or check out our caterpillar guid e for additional hints on how to deal with them.Īphids and mites - These sap suckers love cauliflower and should be kept under control with an organic insecticide. Caterpillars – Both the cabbage white butterfly and cabbage moth attack cauliflower so you will undoubtedly find holes in your leaves from their hungry caterpillars.Water the seedlings in with OCP eco-seaweed and mulch using an organic mulch such as sugarcane.Ĭommon pest and diseases of cauliflower are: Plant out into the garden bed once they reach a height of about 7-10cm. Punnets of cauliflower seedlings will be available from nurseries in season but if starting from seed then sow in trays and expect germination to take around 14 days. Ideally you should monitor it with a pH Testing Kit and keep the soil neutral or only slightly alkaline. ![]() ![]() Cauliflowers don’t like an acidic soil so apply dolomite or lime to make it more alkaline. Prepare the soil with plenty of organic compost, manure and organic fertiliser as this will ensure an adequate supply of nutrient throughout the growing season. In addition they need consistent cool weather when the heads are forming. But the good news is there are smaller and faster growing varieties available so it’s time to give them another look!įor success with cauliflowers they need a good supply of water and nutrient. It is closely related to broccoli and other members of the brassica family such as cabbages, Brussels sprouts and even radishes.Ĭauliflowers are often overlooked by gardeners because they can take a long time to mature and take up a lot of space in the veggie patch. Cauliflower is originally from the Mediterranean region and has been grown for thousands of years. ![]()
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