How to Harvest Cauliflower the Right Way, According to Master Gardeners

Many garden-grown vegetables thrive in the summer months, but for several types of cauliflower, the fall months are prime time. That works out, since cauliflower is the perfect ingredient for fall foods, whether you’re adding it to a soup, creating a savory side, or serving it as the main dish.

The secret to a tasty cauliflower crown? Picking it at just the right time. Here, we spoke to the experts, who gave us their top tips on how to harvest cauliflower, how to store freshly-picked crowns, and more. 

When to Harvest

Cauliflower generally matures in 50 to 80 days, though that depends on several factors, including species, temperature, soil, and water availability. When planted in late spring, this brassica crop is typically ready for harvest in mid-to-late summer. Crops grown in the mid-summer months are prime for a late fall harvest.

Matt Mattus, the senior director of horticulture for the American Horticultural Society, recommends that gardeners watch for a cauliflower head, or curd, that’s tight and firm. If you planted the cauliflower for a fall harvest, be sure to pick it before it bolts (when it starts to flower and set seeds) or before a hard frost hits. “It can handle light frost and light freezes," he says. "And the flavor’s better in cold weather."

Another harvest-time indicator is the cauliflower's head. “If you look on the underside of it and you see the cauliflower starting to spread out more, then you know it's coming to the end,” says Jennifer Broyan, co-owner of Broyan's Farm. That’s not an indication that it’s no longer good to eat—but it does mean it’s time to cut it.

How to Harvest

Once your cauliflower forms a healthy, tight head, it’s time to harvest. Broyan recommends getting a sharp, heavy knife to cut through the bottom. Though you can cut directly around the curd, it may be helpful to keep some of the surrounding leaves intact, which can help you prolong the shelf life of the freshly-picked cauliflower. “We try not to touch the head of the cauliflower with [our] hands because it'll show up as a brown spot," she says. “The more you handle it, the more it will get kind of tender."

'Blanching'

Some gardeners choose to "blanch" their cauliflower crop to preserve the white crown produced by common varietals. If you want to achieve that appearance, then wrap surrounding leaves around the head and secure it with a cloth tie, twine, or a rubber band a few weeks before harvest—ideally when the crowns are about 2 to 3 inches in diameter.

Blanching isn’t necessary, so feel free to skip this step. It’s also worth noting that colorful varieties, like purple cauliflower, shouldn’t be blanched, and there are several self-blanching types too.

After You've Harvested

Cauliflower is an annual plant, so once the season ends, Mattus recommends that you remove the plant from the ground to prevent damage to the soil and future crops. "It’s always important to pull out the roots and stems of cauliflower," he says. "I wouldn’t even compost them, because they can carry club root.”

He's also wary of root maggot fly, a pest that lays eggs near the base of a plant in late fall and, come spring, burrows into the plant.  You won’t even know you have it until summer, when the cauliflower is wilting as the larvae eat through its roots. 

Another way to mitigate the risk of disease and insect damage is to rotate brassica crops. “Let’s say you have four raised beds," says Mattus. "You should try and rotate so that every three or four years, you grow another brassica in that bed.” 

Storing Cauliflower

Cauliflower can last several weeks when stored properly. “The colder you can keep it without freezing, the longer you can have it,” says Broyan. Over-handling the plant can degrade the quality of the crown and lessen shelf life. “Think of it as a cut flower," adds Mattus. "If you picked it in the garden and then you just put it on the shelf in the refrigerator and didn’t wrap it in plastic, it would get rubbery.”