How to farm cauliflower

Cauliflower comes in a wide range of colours such as green, white, purple and orange although white is the most common in Kenya.

 

Cauliflower is a nutritious vegetable that is enjoyed raw as a salad, cooked into a stew or roasted.

Cauliflower can also be baked, fried, boiled or steamed according to the consumers’ preference.

It is however not very popular in Kenya yet as it is consumed mostly by the high-end domestic market.

It comes in a wide range of colours such as green, white, purple and orange although white is the most common in Kenya.

Health benefits of consuming cauliflower include protection against cancer, enhancing weight loss and digestion, learning memory, helps strengthen bones, preventing heart diseases and decreasing overall mortality.

Cauliflower is value-added in some countries into cauliflower crust pizza and into cheese soup.

Varieties include Cauliflower Plenty F1 hybrid which matures fast within 60 to 65 days after transplanting with the average edible head weight ranging from750 grams to 1.5 kilograms according to shambaza.com

The edible head is usually a mass of flowers which are unable to produce fruits or seeds as they possess only female organs notes selinawamucii.com

Cauliflower varieties are grown in Kenya according to selinawamucii.com include:

• Cheddar AGM- has orange-yellow flower heads
• Skywalker AGM-has large white curds.
• Clapton- has large whiteheads
• Graffiti AGM- has deep purple heads

More varieties as listed by farmlinkkenya.com include all year round Italian giant, Early snowball, Kibo giant, Rami F1, Patna early, Purple Cape, White Rock, and Limelight.

Cauliflower is a cool temperature crop that does well in well-drained organic soils with a PH of 6.0 to 6.5. 

It requires soil rich in organic matter which helps in holding moisture.

Climatic conditions favourable for cauliflower growth are annual rainfall at least 500mm per year, temperatures between 12 to 18 degrees Celsius. 

Planting

Cauliflower is grown from seeds.

Land preparation should be done early prior to planting.

A farmer should add compost manure to the soil before planting to boost soil fertility.

Seedlings are first planted in a nursery then hardened for seven days before transplanting three to four weeks later by reducing irrigation.

It is however recommended to start cauliflower growing from transplants rather than seeds.

Cauliflower is best planted on the onset of long rains about six to eight weeks before.

The recommended spacing is 45 to 60cm between the rows and 45cm between the plants for early maturing varieties and 60cm by 60cm for late-maturing varieties.

Farm management practices include irrigating the crops during the dry season. The crop requires constant water supply for proper growth and high yields.

A farmer should get rid of weeds to ensure there is no competition for nutrients, water, sunlight and space as well as keeping off pests causing diseases.

Mulching should also be done to conserve and ensure the availability of moisture, suppress weeds, add soil fertility on decomposing and prevent soil erosion.

Presence of adequate moisture promotes the production of large heads notes oxfarmorganic.co.ke

When the white curds appear, they should be protected from full sunlight which makes them turn to creamy yellow, reducing the market quality.

Pests and diseases

Pests and diseases that attack cauliflower include beet armyworm, blackleg, black rot, cabbage aphid, cabbage looper, cauliflower mosaic, clubroot, cucumber beetles, cutworms, diamondback moth, downy mildew, flea beetles, damping-off, powdery mildew, ringspot among others.

Pests and diseases are controlled by spraying with suitable insecticides, good field hygiene, practicing crop rotation with legumes and cereals, planting resistant varieties, planting certified seeds, and using suitable fungicides. 

Harvesting

The best cauliflower for harvesting are the ones with a firm head fully developed that is compact and clear white with no dark sunburn spots.

Cauliflower is harvested by hand as soon as the curds have attained the desired market size.

Cauliflower can be refrigerated to increase shelf life.