Practicing how to grow your own Cauliflower from scraps is an excellent way to manage your kitchen waste and get your vegetable garden planted at the same time.
In addition, having fresh Cauliflower on hand opens the possibilities for recipes! Okay, let’s get started with how to grow Cauliflower from scraps!
You will want to cut the base off the fresh Cauliflower, with a couple of inches of Cauliflower still attached. This will be your scrap.
You can place the Cauliflower scrap plant in a shallow container with a little bit of water and place your container into full sun. Change the water every two days. In about a week or two, you will have roots developed which you can then plant into soil.
Can you plant your new Cauliflower plant into a pot, or does it have to go into your garden? When is the best time to plant Cauliflower? How do you harvest your Cauliflower when it is time? Let’s find out!
Growing Cauliflower from Scraps
It is not difficult to grow Cauliflower from scraps; it is a pretty easy process and easy to get right. This entire process can be completed in absolutely no time, as you can initiate it while you are cutting your Cauliflower for a dinner dish.
The only transforming aspect of cultivating Cauliflower will be the eventual planting of your cauliflower scraps, but this will still only take you 30-45 minutes, depending on how many Cauliflower plants you have to plant.
There are some necessary needs of the plant that you have to keep in mind to grow some healthy Cauliflower plants. Let’s go through how to grow your own Cauliflower from scraps!
Use Good Cuttings
To grow some healthy Cauliflower plants, you will need some decent scraps and prepare them properly. Freshness and looking normal!
To prepare the scraps, cut the base of the Cucliflower heads off but remember to cut it off with a few inches of the Cucliflower still attached to it so you have a good starting point.
You can then use the rest of the heads for your cooking and continue on your next steps to growing your Cucliflower scraps.
Rooting The Cauliflower Scraps
In order to root the scraps you need to find a solid but shallow container where you will place a little, not too much, water. You do not want to submerge the Cauliflower or make it rot.
After you have some water in the container, place a scrap in the water to ensure you do not have too much.
If the water covers the scrap then there is too much water. Once you have determined that there is not too much water in, place all of the scraps in the container of water.
Make sure the bottom of the scraps is facing down and the cut from head side of the Cauliflower is facing up.
Putting the container with the Cauliflower scraps in full or partial sun, but try to put it somewhere where it will get at least 4 or more hours of sunlight a day.
You then should refresh the water in the container every two days or so. In a week or two the Cauliflower should start producing roots and leaves.
Transferring The Cauliflower to Soil
When your Cauliflower scraps begin to sprout roots and leaves, you will want to begin the transfer process into the ground. You can transfer your new Cauliflower plants to either pots or directly in your garden.
To grow the Cauliflower in pots, use good quality potting soil with a mixture of extra fertilizer. Depending on the pot size that you use, you may be able to put several Cauliflower in one pot. But be sure to give your Cauliflower at least 8 inches apart so that they get air space to grow properly.
If you prefer to plant your new Cauliflower plants directly into your garden, find a spot in your garden where there is a lot of sun and well-draining soil, plus make sure it is an area that you can easily get to because you will have to water them thoroughly.
You will want to plant the Cauliflower plants at least 8 inches apart and water them when the topsoil is dry. You should fertilize the Cauliflower plants about every month to make sure they have all the nutrients needed to create fresh and good quality Cauliflower heads.
When Should You Plant Cauliflower?
Figuring out when to plant Cauliflower is half of the battle, as it can determine if the plant will survive, how long the plant will take to grow, and if the plant will be healthy if it does grow.
You need to plan on growing Cauliflower in the spring, not during the summer, to protect the Cauliflower from the summer heat.
If you are potentially going to have a couple of cold nights in early spring, then the scrap Cauliflower plants will need to be protected from cold or they will not be able to root properly.
How Long Does Cauliflower Take to Grow?
Once you have planted your Cauliflower in the ground, how long until you can enjoy some delicious Cauliflower harvested from your own garden? This largely depends on what ‘kind’ or variety of Cauliflower you choose to harvest.
Most varieties of Cauliflower take a minimum of two months to grow until they are matured but there are longer and shorter varieties. Once your Cauliflower plant is matured the Cauliflower head will begin to grow into maturity.
The Cauliflower head can take an additional two to three months to get to harvesting maturity after the flowering head matures.
One thing that Cauliflower is known for is it turning yellow as it matures, to combat this you can ‘blanch’ the head of the Cauliflower you can break the large surrounding leaves without removing them and then carefully cover the head completely. The now fully covered Cauliflower head will remain white for you to harvest later.
How To Harvest Cauliflower
Having gone through all of the steps on how to grow their Cauliflower from scraps, you are now at the stage where you have a beautiful Cauliflower head ready to be harvested, but how do you go about harvesting it correctly, and in a way that does not cause damage to the plant?
To begin with, you must decide if your Cauliflower head is ready to be harvested. The Cauliflower head should be ready to be harvested when the diameter is between 6 and 8 inches, so if your Cauliflower head is smaller than this, I would wait another week, or two, to harvest it.
To harvest your Cauliflower, you can simply cut the stalk at the base of the head, leaving 1 or 2 inches of a stem on the plant. It is important to leave this space to allow the Cauliflower plant to produce more Cauliflower after it is harvested!
Conclusion
Cultivating Cauliflower from scraps is simple and so is caring for it while it grows.
In general, Cauliflower is a super easy plant to take care of. The beauty of growing Cauliflower from scraps is that it jumpstarts your vegetable garden, and it also reduces waste from your kitchen.
You will not regret growing it, as in no time at all you will have fresh Cauliflower heads!