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Brassicas
Broccoli & Cauliflower
Cool-season heavy feeders that reward rich soil and steady water with a single, satisfying central head.
Get your planting dates
This guide covers how to grow, harvest and keep broccoli & cauliflower, deliberately without sowing dates,
because the right date depends entirely on your climate zone. GardenBuddy's planting calendar
covers all seven Australian climate zones and will tell you exactly when to sow where you live.
Growing
Full sun, rich, well-composted soil, and consistent moisture, irregular watering causes small or oddly-shaped heads. Both dislike heat, which triggers premature (and small) heading.
Common problems
- Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, the single most common brassica pest here, net or handpick
- Small or 'buttoned' heads from heat stress or a check in growth
- Clubroot in acidic, poorly-drained soil over repeated brassica plantings, rotate beds
Harvest
Cut the central head while buds are still tight, before any yellow flowers show. Broccoli often produces smaller side shoots afterwards, keep picking.
Preserving this crop
Best suited to:
Seed saving
Difficulty: Hard. Crosses with all other brassicas flowering at the same time (cabbage, kale, etc.), needs isolation. Biennial in most climates, a multi-season project.