How to Grow Cauliflower in a Pot

Cauliflower can be grown in single pots.

Cauliflower grows as a cool-season crop. It thrives in cool weather and develops the best heads when temperatures are above freezing but below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Cauliflower forms a central head surrounded by a rosette of green foliage. If you don't have room in the garden for the vegetable, cauliflower is compact enough to grow well as a potted plant. Grow the plants in spring or as a fall crop once temperatures begin to cool in late summer and early fall.

Things You'll Need

• Pot
• Potting medium
• Slow-release fertilizer
• Soluble fertilizer

Instructions

1. Combine 1/2 cup of a slow-release 10-10-10 blend fertilizer with 5 gallons of potting mix. Place the mix inside a 5-gallon pot with bottom drainage holes.

2. Set the pot in an area that receives full, all-day sunlight. A location that is easy to access and has nearby water, such as a faucet, eases gardening chores.

3. Plant one cauliflower seedling in the pot. Plant the seedling at the same depth it was growing previously.

4. Water the container every one to two days, or when the top inch of soil dries. Avoid wetting the foliage and forming head of the cauliflower. Water at the base of the plant, thoroughly moistening the soil in the pot.

5. Wrap the outer cauliflower leaves over the forming head once the head is about 2 inches in diameter. Tie the leaves in place with a soft cloth plant tie. The leaves protect the forming head from sunlight, so it keeps its creamy white color. Sun exposure causes the head to turn green.

6. Apply a soluble, balanced fertilizer every two weeks, beginning four to six weeks after planting the container. Apply the fertilizer in the amount recommended on the package for your pot size.

7. Cut off and harvest the cauliflower head once it is approximately 6 inches in diameter, about seven to 14 days after tying the leaves. Mature cauliflower has a tight head that hasn't yet begun to spread apart for flowering.

Tips & Warnings

• Some potting mixtures come already fertilized and do not require fertilization prior to planting.

• Start cauliflower seedlings indoors six weeks before the last spring frost, or purchase healthy, compact seedlings from a nursery.

References

• University of Wisconsin Extension; Container Gardening; H.C. Harrison; 1996
• Iowa State University Extension; Growing Cauliflower; Linda Naeve; Feb. 28, 1997