Growing your own Cauliflower from scraps is a great way to reduce your kitchen waste and get your veggie garden going at the same time.
Plus, having fresh Cauliflower at your fingertips opens up a world of recipes you can try. So, how do you grow Cauliflower from scraps?
Cut the base off the fresh Cauliflower with a few inches of Cauliflower still attached; this will be your scrap. Place the plant in a shallow container with a small bit of water and place it into full sun. Change the water every two days. Roots will grow in about a week or two, then plant in soil.
Can you plant your new Cauliflower plant into a pot, or does it need to go into your garden? When is the best time to grow Cauliflower? How do you harvest your Cauliflower when the time comes? Let’s find out!
Table of Contents
Growing Cauliflower from Scraps
Growing Cauliflower from scraps is not a difficult task; it is a pretty easy process and easy to get right. This process is not time-consuming as you can start it while you are cutting your Cauliflower for a dinner dish.
The most time-consuming part is planting the Cauliflower in soil when the scraps start growing, and this will only take you between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on how many Cauliflower plants you have.
However, there are some needs that the plant has that you have to keep in mind to ensure you grow healthy Cauliflower plants. Let us go through how you can grow your very own Cauliflower from scraps.
Use Good Cuttings
To ensure you grow healthy Cauliflower plants, you need to start with some good scraps and prepare them correctly so the plant can grow properly. Make sure the scraps are fresh and that they still look normal.
Then to prepare the scraps, cut the Cauliflower base off the heads, but make sure you cut it off with a few inches of the Cauliflower still attached to it to help provide a good starting point. You can then use the rest of the heads in your cooking and move on to the next step of growing your Cauliflower scraps.
Rooting The Cauliflower Scraps
To root the scraps, you need to find a sturdy but shallow container and fill it with a little bit of water, not too much as you do not want to drown the Cauliflower or cause it to rot. To ensure you do not have too much water in the container, place a Cauliflower scrap in the water.
If the water covers the scrap, then there is too much water. Once the water is at a good level, place all the Cauliflower scraps into the container and make sure that the base of each of the Cauliflower scraps are facing down and the cut from the head facing up.
Place this container with the Cauliflower scraps into the full or partial sun, but ensure it is in a location where it will get at least 4 hours or more of sunlight every day. You then need to change the water in the container every two days or so. The Cauliflower should begin to grow leaves and roots in a week or two.
Transferring The Cauliflower to Soil
When the roots and the leaves begin to grow from your Cauliflower scraps, you can now start the process of transferring them into the soil. You can either transfer your new Cauliflower plants into pots or straight into your garden.
To grow the Cauliflower in pots, you need to use good quality potting soil with some extra fertilizer mixed in. depending on the size of the pot you use; you may be able to plant multiple Cauliflower plants in one pot.
But you need to ensure that the Cauliflower plants are at least 8 inches apart to allow the plants to have space to grow correctly.
If you want to plant your new Cauliflower plants straight into your garden, you need to find an area of your garden in full sun, but which offers well-draining soil; in an area you can get to easily as you need to water them well.
You need to plant the Cauliflower at least 8 inches apart and water them when the topsoil is dry. Fertilize the Cauliflower plants every month or so to ensure they have everything they need to thrive and grow fresh and good quality Cauliflower heads.
When Should You Plant Cauliflower?
Knowing when the best time is to plant Cauliflower is half the battle as this could dictate whether the plant survives or not, how long the plant will take to grow, and if it does grow, how healthy the plant will be.
You need to grow Cauliflower in the spring and not in summer, as this will help protect the Cauliflower from the summer heat. If you are still having a few cold nights in the early spring, then your scrap Cauliflower plants will need to be protected from the cold, or they will not root correctly.
How Long Does Cauliflower Take to Grow?
So, once you have planted your Cauliflower into the soil, how long will it take exactly until you can harvest some delicious Cauliflower from your garden? This will mainly depend on the variety of Cauliflower you have chosen to grow.
Most Cauliflower varieties will need at least two months to grow until they reach maturity, but some types can take longer, and others can mature in less time. Once the Cauliflower plant is mature, only then will it begin to grow a Cauliflower head.
This Cauliflower head can then take a further two to three months to develop before you can harvest it. Cauliflower is prone to turning yellow when it is maturing; to avoid this, ‘blanch’ the head by breaking (without removing them) the large leaves surrounding it and covering the head completely. The cauliflower head will now stay white.
How To Harvest Cauliflower
So, you have followed all the steps of how to grow your Cauliflower from scraps, and you now have a lovely Cauliflower head that is waiting to be harvested, but how do your harvest it correctly so you do not damage the plant?
Well, the first thing you need to do is decide if your Cauliflower head is actually ready to be harvested or not. The Cauliflower head should be ready to harvest when it is between 6 and 8 inches in diameter. If your Cauliflower head is smaller than this, you should leave it for another week or two before harvesting.
To harvest your Cauliflower, you can cut the stalk just at the base of the head, ensuring your leave a stem of 1 or 2 inches on the plant. This is important as the Cauliflower plant can produce more Cauliflower after it is harvested if you leave this space.
Conclusion
Growing Cauliflower from scraps is an easy process and taking care of the plant as it is growing is not difficult either.
Overall, Cauliflower is an easy plant to look after. Growing Cauliflower from scraps is a great way to get your vegetable garden going, and it reduces waste from your kitchen.
You will not regret doing this as you will have fresh Cauliflower heads in no time!
