When to Plant Cauliflower in Cairns, Tropical Guide
Soil temperature is modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Cairns), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like in Tropical
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
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This Cauliflower guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Apr to Jul
- Days to harvest
- about 17 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 60 cm apart
Cauliflower is a cool season brassica grown for its white curd. It is one of the fussier members of the cabbage family.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Tropical
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr S
- May S/T
- Jun T
- Jul T
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct -
- Nov -
- Dec -
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
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How to Grow Cauliflower in Tropical Australia
- Soil
- Moist, well drained, fertile soil with plenty of compost (Yates). Firm the soil, and avoid beds that held brassicas in recent years.
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- Sunlight
- Full sun, at least 6 hours (Bunnings, Yates).
- Spacing
- 60cm apart
- Watering
- Give 2 to 4 cm of water a week (Bunnings) and keep it even. Uneven water and heat can cause buttoning, and overwatering late in the crop can split the head (The Seed Collection).
- Good companions
- Nasturtium, Dwarf Beans, Onion, Cucumber, Dill
- Keep away from
- Lemongrass
- Grow before it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
- Grow after it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
Give the bed 3 turns before brassicas go back in. The cabbage family is hungry for nitrogen and shares club root and other soil diseases.
Tropical Growing Tips for Cauliflower
Recommended Varieties
- Cheddar
- Graffiti
Key Challenges
- Heat and humidity
- Caterpillar pressure
- Buttoning in warm weather
Pro Tips
- Choose the heat tolerant types Bunnings names, Cheddar and Graffiti
- Net from planting day
- Keep the water even
Pests and problems for Cauliflower in Tropical
- Bacterial Spot Watch
- Diamondback Moth Watch
- Cabbage White Butterfly Watch
- Damping Off Use sterile seed-raising mix. Avoid overwatering seedlings. Ensure good drainage and airflow. Sow thinly. Water with chamomile tea as... Watch
- Downy Mildew Watch
- Common Garden Snail Watch
- Clubroot Rotate brassicas. Yates suggests avoiding beds that held brassicas in the last 2 years, and WA DPIRD suggests 4 years. Keep tools and soil... Watch
- Caterpillar pressure Caterpillar pressure Watch
Harvesting Cauliflower
When ready: Cut when the head is firm, tight and about 20 cm across (Yates), before the curd starts to loosen.
How to harvest: Cut the head with a sharp knife and leave a few outer leaves attached (Bunnings). Cauliflower makes one head per plant (The Seed Collection), so pull the plant out afterwards.
Storing and preserving cauliflower
How to keep it
- Freezing. No Australian source read for cauliflower. Cut into florets, blanch briefly and freeze, as for other brassicas.
What cauliflower costs in the shops right now, retailer by retailer, updated daily.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Cauliflower
When do you plant cauliflower in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to Jul
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Mar to Jun
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan to Apr, Aug to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jan to Mar, Aug to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Jan, Sep to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Feb to Jun
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan to Apr, Aug to Dec
Can you grow cauliflower all year round in Cairns?
No. In the Tropical zone the planting months are Apr to Jul. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Cauliflower in Cairns?
Cauliflower is a poor fit for warm areas and does not like heat. In the tropics grow it only in the dry season. Start seed in trays in April and May and plant out from May to July so the heads form in the coolest, driest months. Wet season plantings will button or rot.
What soil temperature do Cauliflower need?
Cauliflower germinate best when soil temperature is between 10°C and 30°C.
How do I know when Cauliflower are ready to harvest?
Cut when the head is firm, tight and about 20 cm across (Yates), before the curd starts to loosen.
What are the best Cauliflower varieties for Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical zone include: Cheddar, Graffiti.
What grows well with Cauliflower?
Good companion plants for Cauliflower include: Nasturtium, Dwarf Beans, Onion, Cucumber, Dill.
Are cauliflower salt tolerant?
Only a little. Cauliflower are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.