I have been growing cauliflower here successfully for over 30 years. I had some hits and misses and still do due to our frequent and huge temperature swings. I usually set out my plants in the fall as soon as the temperatures get cool and again in January and February. I usually have to have a hoop and plastic ready to cover them as they will get damaged by the cold or even killed if it gets really cold. If a head has started forming and it gets too cold the resulting head will have dark rotten spots in it when it gets mature so make sure it doesn't experience temps below about 28 or 29 without and adequate cover.
BT is a must. Keep the plants dusted or sprayed to prevent the worms from doing too much damage.
They are heavy feeders so keep them will fertilized and side dress them regularly to improve the size of the plants and thus the heads. Make sure the heads when they start forming are protected from the sun so they will remain white. I take a few of the outer leaves and pull them over and clip them together with a clothes pin or two. This keeps the heads covered and allows them to remain white.
It is better to cut them too soon than too late. If you wait too long to harvest them they will get a bit grainy in texture and taste stronger.
My favorite and most dependable varieties are Snow Crown and Bishop. Snow crown is faster to head and makes a good size head which is a real plus in the spring when sudden heat can really mess them up down here. Bishop is slower to head but makes huge heads so I always try to plant both. I still try out a few different varieties but haven't found any others as dependable.
Bill
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