Cauliflower
Also called: قرنبيط · زهرة · Karnabeet · Gobi
The most temperature-sensitive brassica: it needs cool nights to form its curd, so the window is narrow. Start trays in late September and transplant in mid-October so the heads form in December and January.
The year at a glance
Each month is split in half. The outline marks now.
Stage by stage
Stage 1 of 7
Seed
Days 0–4
Seed
Days 0–4The seed sits in the soil taking up water and swelling. Nothing shows above the surface — everything is happening underground.
Do now
- Water lightly and often so the soil stays damp but never soaked. Letting it dry out between waterings kills the seed before it sprouts.
- Cover the surface with a thin layer of straw or compost to slow evaporation and steady the temperature.
- Label what you sowed and when. You will need the date to work out the harvest.
Watch for
- A hard crust forming on sandy soil after watering, which traps the sprout underneath. Break it gently.
- Ants carrying small seeds away — a very common problem in Qatari gardens.
In Qatar
Start in trays under shade in late September. The seed germinates best below 28 °C, so use the coolest bright spot you have.
Germination
Days 5–9The seed coat splits: a root pushes down and a shoot pushes up. The two seed leaves that appear are not true leaves — they are the seed’s own food store.
Do now
- Keep moisture constant. The first root is very fine and a single dry day can end the seedling.
- Remove any covering as soon as the first sprout shows, or it will stretch thin looking for light.
- Give bright, indirect light. Direct midday sun will scorch a new seedling within hours.
Watch for
- A long, thin, pale stem: the seedling is not getting enough light and will collapse.
- Sudden wilting with a pinched stem at soil level — damping off, caused by overwatering.
In Qatar
Up in five days in September warmth. The risk is not germination but seedlings stretching in the heat, so give them the brightest light you can without midday sun.
Seedling
Days 10–34The first true leaves appear, shaped differently from the seed leaves. The plant is now feeding itself and the roots are branching fast.
Do now
- Thin crowded seedlings and keep the strongest. Crowding gives you many weak plants instead of one good one.
- Start watering less often but more deeply, to drive the roots downwards.
- Harden the seedling off — build up its sun exposure over a week before transplanting.
Watch for
- Yellowing lower leaves: nitrogen shortage, very common in Qatar’s poor sandy soil.
- Small holes or chewed edges, meaning snails or young grasshoppers.
In Qatar
Transplant at four to five weeks before the roots coil in the tray. A cauliflower that sits too long in its tray buttons — it makes a tiny head and stops.
Leaf growth
Days 35–64Leaves multiply fast and the rosette widens. All the energy goes into leaf — which is the crop itself, so speed is the goal.
Do now
- Feed nitrogen every ten days. Leafy crops want more of it than anything else you grow.
- Keep the moisture even. Any drought turns the leaves bitter and tough, permanently.
- Clear competing weeds. Leafy crops root shallowly and lose the competition easily.
Watch for
- Small, thick, dark leaves: the plant is thirsty or the soil is salty.
- Aphids gathering in the heart of the plant, where they are hard to wash out.
In Qatar
The leaf area you build before the end of November decides the size of the head in January. Feed generously and keep the water even; stress now cannot be made up later.
Heading up
Days 65–94The inner leaves start folding in on each other into a solid head. This stage needs cool weather and steady water more than any other.
Do now
- Water generously and regularly. Any interruption now gives you a loose or split head.
- Feed potassium for a tight head, rather than nitrogen which loosens it.
- For cauliflower, tie the outer leaves over the head to blanch it and shield it from the sun.
Watch for
- The head splitting after a heavy watering that follows a dry spell.
- A very small head: the heat arrived early and cut the season short.
In Qatar
Curd formation needs nights below about 18 °C, which in Qatar means from mid-December. Plant late and the head forms in February warmth and comes out loose.
Harvest
Days 95–115The head has reached full size and is firm. You cut the whole thing once, and leaving it means a head that loosens or splits.
Do now
- Press the head — firm with no give means ready. Cut it at the base with a sharp knife in the cool of the morning.
- Leave the stump and a few outer leaves in the ground; small side heads may follow.
- Refrigerate straight away. A cut head loses its crispness fast at room temperature.
Watch for
- A head splitting after heavy watering or rain that follows a dry spell.
- A head loosening or sending up a flower stalk in a warm spell — cut it at once.
In Qatar
Harvest in January–February. A curd left a few days too long in a warm spell loosens fast, so check the heads daily once they reach the size of a fist.
End of cycle
Days 116–140The plant’s cycle is over. The roots left behind break down and add organic matter if you leave them.
Do now
- Cut the plant at soil level and leave the roots in place to rot down.
- Sow a crop from a different family in the same spot to break the pest cycle.
- Add compost and cover the soil before the summer heat.
Watch for
- Planting the same family twice running in the same bed.
- Leaving the soil bare in the sun all summer.
In Qatar
Cauliflower does not make useful side heads after cutting, so pull the stump. Do not follow it with another brassica in the same bed.
- Water
- High
- Salt tolerance
- Low
- Heat tolerance
- Low
10 L/week in winter, 22 L in summer
Soil preparation
Hungry and thirsty. Work in 5 kg of compost per square metre and a little gypsum for calcium — not lime, because Qatar’s soil is already alkaline. Boron shortage (hollow, browning stems) is common in alkaline sand, so use a compost that carries micronutrients.
Pests
Diamondback moth
- Sign
- Tiny green caterpillars that drop on a thread when you touch the leaf, and leaves eaten into windows.
- What to do
- Cover with fine insect mesh from transplanting. If they get in, spray Bt on the undersides of the leaves weekly.
Grey cabbage aphid
- Sign
- Waxy grey colonies between the inner leaves and around the curd.
- What to do
- Spray potassium soap early. Once the curd closes up, they are out of reach.
Common problems
Buttoning
- Cause
- Stress at the wrong moment: seedlings left too long in the tray, transplant shock, a dry spell, or a sudden heat spike. The plant decides to flower before it has enough leaf to feed a big curd.
- Fix
- Transplant at four to five weeks before the roots coil, keep watering steady, and plant in October rather than later.
Yellow or brown curd
- Cause
- Sun on an uncovered curd, or a boron shortage.
- Fix
- Tie the outer leaves loosely over the curd once it is egg-sized, and use a micronutrient-rich compost.
Loose, grainy "ricey" curd
- Cause
- Warmth while the curd is growing. Anything over about 25 °C by day loosens it.
- Fix
- Time the sowing so the curd forms in December and January, and cut it the moment it is full.
Picking
Cut when the curd is full, firm and tight — about 15–20 cm across — before its surface starts to loosen. Leave a few wrapper leaves around it when you cut.
Keeping
A week to ten days in the fridge, unwashed, in a loose bag. Freezes well after a three-minute blanch.