When to Plant Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a half-hardy cool-season vegetable. It takes light frosts but not a hard freeze.
Start seeds indoors 7 to 9 weeks before the last spring frost, and plant out 1 to 3 weeks before the last frost. For a fall crop, set out transplants 10 to 13 weeks before the first fall frost. The first harvest comes about 55 to 75 days after transplanting.
Example dates
The same rules in dates for three climates, using typical frost dates. Enter your ZIP code above for the dates where you live.
| Task | Last frost Mar 15first Nov 15 | Last frost Apr 15first Oct 25 | Last frost May 15first Sep 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start seeds indoors | Jan 11 – 25 | Feb 11 – 25 | Mar 13 – 27 |
| Harden off | Feb 15 – 21 | Mar 18 – 24 | Apr 17 – 23 |
| Plant out | Feb 22 – Mar 8 | Mar 25 – Apr 8 | Apr 24 – May 8 |
| Harvest | Apr 18 – May 2 | May 19 – Jun 2 | Jun 18 – Jul 2 |
| Fall: Start seeds indoors | Jul 5 – 19 | Jun 14 – 28 | May 20 – Jun 3 |
| Fall: Plant out | Aug 16 – Sep 6 | Jul 26 – Aug 16 | Jul 1 – 22 |
| Fall: Harvest | Oct 10 – 24 | Sep 19 – Oct 3 | Aug 25 – Sep 8 |
Growing cauliflower
Cauliflower sulks after any check in growth, so keep transplants growing steadily and well watered.
- Spacing: 18 in apart, in rows 30 in apart. In a raised bed, 1 per sq ft at square-foot spacing.
- Days to harvest: 55 to 75 from transplanting, then about 2 weeks of picking.
- Rotation: cauliflower is in the cabbage family. Plant it where nothing from that family grew in the last two years. See crop rotation.
- Traditional companions: beet, bush bean, celery, chamomile (german), chives, cucumber, garlic, green onion, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, leek, mint, mustard greens, nasturtium, onion (bulb), potato, radish, romaine lettuce, rosemary, sage, shallot, spinach, swiss chard, thyme. See companion plants for cauliflower.
- Usually kept apart from: cherry tomato, strawberry, tomato.
Plan your beds with these dates
Draw your beds, tap squares to plant cauliflower and everything else, and get every crop's dates for your ZIP code in one calendar. Free, in your browser.
Open the garden plannerQuestions
When do I start cauliflower indoors?
7 to 9 weeks before the last spring frost: with a last frost of April 15, that's Feb 11 – 25. Enter your ZIP code above for your own dates.
Can cauliflower go in before the last frost?
Yes. Cauliflower is half-hardy: plant it out 1 to 3 weeks before the last spring frost.
How long does cauliflower take to grow?
About 55 to 75 days from transplanting to the first harvest, which then lasts about 2 weeks. Varieties differ: check the seed packet.
Can I grow cauliflower in fall?
Yes. Set out transplants 10 to 13 weeks before the first fall frost. Enter your ZIP code above for the dates where you live.
More planting dates
Sources
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal, by station: freeze dates at 32 °F)
- Colorado State University Extension: Vegetable Planting Guide (CMG GardenNotes #720)
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech: Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant (426-331 / SPES-673P, 2025)
- University of Maryland Extension: Vegetable Planting Calendar for central Maryland
- UNH Cooperative Extension: Growing Vegetables: When to Plant your Vegetable Garden (2016)
- NC State Extension: Extension Gardener Handbook, Chapter 16: Vegetable Gardening
- WSU Extension: Pacific Northwest Gardener's Handbook, Chapter 7: Vegetable Gardening
- Iowa State: Fall Planting of Vegetables
- Iowa State: Germination Requirements for Annuals and Vegetables
- Iowa State: Growing Cauliflower in the Home Garden
- Utah State University Extension: Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates for Utah
- Montana State University Extension: Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules (MontGuide MT199308AG, rev. 2018)
- Purdue University Extension: Starting Seeds Indoors (HO-14-W)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC: Small-Scale Gardening (square-foot planting guide)
- UC Master Gardener Program, UC ANR: Companion Planting Chart: Companion Planting for Edible Crops
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension, Kenosha County: Companion Plants for the Vegetable Garden (column, 2012)
- Oregon State University Extension Service: Herbs and Flowers in the Vegetable Garden
- Utah State University Extension, Utah 4-H: Creating Sustainable School and Home Gardens: Companion Planting (2025)
- Penn State Extension: Herbs Make Good Plant Partners and Companions
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County: The Art of Companion Planting (Master Gardener presentation, 2023)
- WSU Extension Skagit County Master Gardeners: Trap Cropping (2020)