What to use cauliflower with in the vegetable garden?

Cauliflower goes well with celery, bush beans, potatoes or tomatoes. However, avoid planting it near turnips or radishes. Cauliflower attracts pests that are particularly harmful to these species. And don't plant your cabbage with other cabbages. Plants in the same family consume the same nutrients and attract the same diseases.

When to harvest cauliflower?

Harvesting takes place between 4 and 7 months after sowing, depending on the variety. Cauliflower is harvested when the head is firm and compact.

Summer cauliflower, a dazzling white in the vegetable garden

Would you like to enjoy cauliflower from your kitchen garden as an aperitif or barbecue in summer? It's possible, as long as you plant summer cauliflowers(Brassica oleracea). This vegetable, often associated with autumn soups and gratins, can also be harvested in June and July. As long as you choose the right varieties.

How to recognize summer cauliflower(Brassica oleracea)?

Summer cauliflower(Brassica oleracea) is a biennial vegetable. It rarely grows taller than 60 cm in all directions, and has a bushy growth habit.

The leaves, ranging from soft green to more pronounced, form an upright rosette. Large and textured, they protect the head, also known as the apple, from evaporation and sunlight.

In the center, the floral meristem gives rise to a dazzling white head. This compact inflorescence has a perfect fractal structure. Each miniature bouquet imitates the overall shape. White, the apple turns yellow when exposed to sunlight.

When not picked, the apple unfurls a flowering stalk, topped with small yellow or white 4-petalled flowers.

Which varieties of summer cauliflower to plant in the vegetable garden?

Several cauliflower varieties have been selected to withstand the heat and enable a summer harvest:

'Alpha': this Cauliflower produces a small white head, very fine and firm, covered by foliage;
erfurter' (very early Erfurt dwarf): an old, compact variety with a white head sheltered by wavy leaves.

Is summer cauliflower toxic?

Summer cauliflower, like other cauliflowers, is not a toxic plant. The leaves and head are harmless if touched or ingested. On the contrary! They are edible.

Diseases / Threats