Advantages & Disadvantages of Growing Cauliflower
You consider growing cauliflower at home but want to know whether this is really worth it to you or not?
Great! Stick with me since I will show you the pros and cons of growing cauliflower in the following article.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Growing Cauliflower
- Cauliflowers produce big crops
- Cauliflower plants allow for some mistakes
- Cauliflowers are not picky regarding soil conditions
- You don’t have to care a lot for cauliflower plants
- You can just let nature do its work
- Growing cauliflower can be interesting
- Cauliflowers are not greatly vulnerable to pests
- Plant diseases are often not a big problem when growing cauliflower
- Cauliflower doesn’t need full sun to grow well
- You can grow cauliflower in a wide range of climatic zones
- Cauliflowers are healthy
Cauliflowers produce big crops
One advantage of growing cauliflower is that your plants will produce pretty big crops and you will be able to make multiple dishes from just a single plant so it may be really worth it to grow cauliflower in your garden or on your balcony.
Cauliflower plants allow for some mistakes
Cauliflower plants are also pretty resistant and allow for some mistakes.
Hence, even though you might not be an expert in growing cauliflower yet, you should not worry too much in this regard and just give it a try.
Cauliflowers are not picky regarding soil conditions
Another upside to growing cauliflower is that cauliflower plants are not really picky about soil conditions.
Instead, you can reuse the soil for many years and can make growing cauliflower quite economical.
You don’t have to care a lot for cauliflower plants
Since cauliflowers are pretty resistant, you also don’t have to spend lots of time caring for your plants and can also get solid harvests even if you only put minimum efforts into your growth project.
You can just let nature do its work
Instead of having to actively work for succeeding in growing cauliflower, you can also just let nature do its work and you will be surprised by how good your cauliflower plants will grow.
Growing cauliflower can be interesting
Another benefit of growing cauliflower at home is that it can also be a pretty interesting project and it can be really exciting to watch your plants grow and develop.
Cauliflowers are not greatly vulnerable to pests
Since cauliflower plants are also pretty resistant to pests, you also don’t have to take action in this regard most of the time and can just let it grow.
Plant diseases are often not a big problem when growing cauliflower
Not only pests will not be a major problem, but also plant diseases are rather rare when it comes to growing cauliflower at home and this can be great since you can just enjoy the growth projects without having to worry about treating plant diseases as much as with many other plants.
Cauliflower doesn’t need full sun to grow well
While tomatoes and many other plants really need full sun to grow well, it is also possible to grow cauliflower in half-shady environments in a proper manner.
You can grow cauliflower in a wide range of climatic zones
Cauliflower is also pretty tolerant towards climatic conditions.
Hence, you can grow them in a variety of different climatic zones as long as it is not too hot or cold.
Cauliflowers are healthy
Cauliflower crops are also pretty healthy and you can also make many delicious dishes out of them.
As you can see, there are many reasons for growing cauliflower at home.
Yet, there are also some drawbacks of growing cauliflower that I want to address in the following so you will be better able to decide whether you still want to grow cauliflower or rather want to grow other plants instead.
Disadvantages of Growing Cauliflowers
- Growing cauliflower takes quite a long time
- Limited number of crops per cauliflower plants
- Cauliflower doesn’t grow well in the tropics or extremely cold climates
- Cauliflower plants need lots of space
- Cauliflowers are not great plants to grow on a balcony
- Growing cauliflower is not as easy as growing other veggies
- Cauliflower is not the greatest plant to grow with kids
- You may have to fertilize cauliflower plants often
- Big cauliflower plants need lots of water
- Many people don’t like the taste of cauliflower
- Wild animals may try to feed on cauliflower plants
Growing cauliflower takes quite a long time
One problem with growing cauliflower is that it takes quite a long time to grow cauliflower from seed to harvest and if you are a rather impatient person, growing carrots or other plants may be far better for you in this regard.
Limited number of crops per cauliflower plants
You should also know that cauliflower plants only produce a pretty limited number of crops and you will often even only be able to harvest a single cauliflower head and may be disappointed by your yield.
Cauliflower doesn’t grow well in the tropics or extremely cold climates
While cauliflower plants are tolerant to different climatic conditions, growing cauliflower still doesn’t make sense in case you live in extremely hot or cold climatic zones where cauliflower just doesn’t grow well.
Cauliflower plants need lots of space
Another downside to growing cauliflower is that those plants get pretty big and need lots of space and if you don’t have a big garden, you may be better off growing smaller plants.
Cauliflowers are not great plants to grow on a balcony
Since cauliflower plants can get quite big, they are also not great plants to grow on a balcony and if you don’t have a garden but rather live in a small flat, growing cauliflower at home will not be the right way to go for you.
Growing cauliflower is not as easy as growing other veggies
While you don’t need to be a genius to grow cauliflower in a proper manner, it is still not as easy as growing peppers or many other veggies and you should therefore have at least some knowledge so you will be able to grow cauliflower in a proper manner.
Cauliflower is not the greatest plant to grow with kids
Since it takes quite a long time to grow cauliflower, it is also not the greatest plant to grow with kids since they will often just lose interest in your gardening project pretty soon.
You may have to fertilize cauliflower plants often
Since cauliflower plants grow quite big, they also need lots of power and you may therefore also have to fertilize cauliflower plants if you want them to grow really well.
Big cauliflower plants need lots of water
Another disadvantage of growing cauliflower is that you have to water your plants on a regular basis, especially during hot summer times when you might even have to water your plants multiple times per day.
Many people don’t like the taste of cauliflower
Growing cauliflower also doesn’t make sense if you don’t like the taste since you would just lose motivation for your gardening project rather quickly.
Wild animals may try to feed on cauliflower plants
You should also know that wild animals or even your pets may try to feed on cauliflower plants and you may therefore have to take some protective measures in this regard.
Top 10 Growing Cauliflower Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Growing Cauliflower Pros | Growing Cauliflower Cons |
|---|---|
| Cauliflowers are tolerant to swings in soil conditions | Cauliflower doesn’t grow well in the tropics |
| Cauliflowers are not the most demanding plants | Cauliflowers don’t grow well in cold climatic zones |
| You don’t have to spend lots of time caring for cauliflowers | Growing cauliflower is not easy |
| Cauliflower plants don’t need full sun to grow well | Cauliflowers take quite a long time to grow well |
| Cauliflowers grow well in different climatic zones | Cauliflowers are not the most exciting plants |
| Cauliflowers produce big crops | Cauliflowers are not great plants to grow with kids |
| Growing cauliflower is great if you have a big garden | You may not like the taste of cauliflower |
| Cauliflower is healthy | Cauliflowers grow pretty big |
| Cauliflowers are not really vulnerable to pests | You need lots of space to grow cauliflower |
| Plant diseases will not be a big problem | Cauliflowers are not great plants to grow on the balcony |
Should You Grow Cauliflower At Home?
While growing cauliflower at home can make sense since you can expect pretty big crops and cauliflower plants are also pretty resistant to pests and diseases, you should also know that cauliflowers don’t grow well in pretty cold or extremely hot climatic zones and not everyone likes the taste of cauliflower.
If you want to learn more about growing cauliflower in general, you should also have a look at my cauliflower grower’s guide and my growing cauliflower FAQ section.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower
Own experience.
About the Author
My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my own plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.
In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.
