Usually white, you might have seen cauliflower in purple, orange and yellow color. This vegetable is a descendent of wild cabbage and does well in full sun.
Along with fertile soil and sufficient sunlight, cauliflower plant needs consistent water to produce quality yield.
Though water helps these vegetable plants to produce food and increase yield, excess amount can cause root rot.
Therefore, knowing how much water cauliflower plant needs is one of the key aspect to grow successful crop.
Depending on your soil type and climatic conditions water the cauliflower plant 2 times in a week. This is to ensure the soil stays moist for longer time. Check the soil by inserting your index finger. If it’s dry water the plant generously.
Watering Cauliflower Plant: It’s Importance
Not just for hydration, plants use water to absorb nutrients and minerals from soil.
If your plant doesn’t get fossil fuels, no worries your plant can still grow. But, when you fail to provide water they will die.
Transpiration is a process in which water gets evaporated through stomata (tiny holes on leaves). As most of you knew, water is an essential element in photosynthesis process.
It takes sunlight, carbon-dioxide and water to convert it into sugar and oxygen.
Along with water, minerals are pumped to plants through roots from soil.
Lack of water will dry the soil and roots fail to absorb nutrients. Also, underwatered plants experience stunted growth and drooping leaves.
Not just the amount of water, even quality of water impact the growth of cauliflower plant.
How Often to Water Cauliflower Plant?
Though water is essential, daily watering can result in waterlog and cauliflower plant roots can rot.
If your potting soil is well drained to remove excess water and filled with enough fertilizers, then watering 2 times in a week is enough.
However, there are few aspects that you need to consider before watering cauliflower plant.
Climate, garden soil and location of pot influence your watering schedule.
As rule of thumb, check the moisture of the potting soil by inserting your index finger.
Maintaining the right moisture level will be enough to fulfill water needs of your plant.
- To lock moisture for longer time, you can use hay grass to mulch around the cauliflower plant.
- Drip irrigation is one of the best methods to save water and keep the soil moist.
- Water your cauliflower plant 1-2 times in a week. Check the soil is its sticky leave for a day. When the soil turns dry, water the plant generously.
Note: Garden soil or potting soil plays vital role in growing healthy plant. Wrong potting soil will ruin the watering schedule and leave your plant overwatered or underwatered.
Overwatering
Out of curiosity new gardeners, fill the plant growing container with excess water. Overwatering is a common problem in those who just started gardening.
Before starting your vegetable garden, it is important to know plant’s watering needs and how much sunlight it needs. This will help to avoid usual plant problems.
Signs
Yellowing of leaves, stunted growth and presence of algae on surface of the soil are signs that you’re overwatering your cauliflower plant.
If left unnoticed it causes root rot and eventually plant will die.
To revive, stop watering and allow the soil to dry. Change the location of the plant, may be it isn’t getting enough sunlight or if needed change the potting soil.
Wrong potting soil often results in overwatering, as it fails to drain excess water.
Also Read: Why Holes in My Cauliflower Plant Leaves?
Underwatering
Your plant may go underwatered when you’re on a vacation.
Without enough water, your plant experience drooping leaves and stops growing. By having a look at your plant leaves, you can say they aren’t watered recently.
To revive, water the cauliflower plant generously and set the watering schedule.
Next time, when on vacation, ask your neighbor to water the plant.
How Long Can Vegetable Plants Go Without Water?
Depending on the plant type some may go without water for a week or more than that. But, vegetable plants can’t survive without water for more than 4 to 7 days.
Even the plant size determines the amount of water it needs. Plant with more foliage needs more water to produce sugar, while fewer leaves plant may not need much water.
Similarly, mature plants can survive without water for longer days when compared to small plants.
If you planted cauliflower plant recently, then you shouldn’t leave it without watering. Arrange drip irrigation method to keep the soil moist.
Apart from maturity of plant; growing medium, environment and growing space are impacts how much water cauliflower plant need and till how many days the plant can survive.
Check this out: How Long Does Cauliflower Take To Grow?
Does Water Quality Affect Plant Growth?
As mentioned above, water isn’t just used for hydration. Nutrients in the soil are absorbed by plant through water.
When you use contaminated water for plants, contaminants spread throughout the plant.
Vegetables from such plants aren’t good for your health.
Unfiltered or contaminated water may contain high amount of micronutrients that may sometime harm the foliage and the plant may experience discolored leaves, stunted growth and lesser yield.
For instance, manganese and iron in high amount can damage the leaves and higher concentration of fluoride affect the foliage.
Distilled water is safe for growing your plants.
If you’re using municipal water supplied by the state, then you don’t have to worry. As the water is tested and filtered before supplying.
Growing Cauliflower Plant Care Tips (Watering schedule)
If you’ve cabbage, broccoli and turnip in your garden, then don’t plant cauliflower in the same soil. As these vegetable plants belong to same species, diseases and infestation can easily spread.
- Cauliflower grows well in fertile soil that drains well yet stays moist for longer time.
- To produce hard quality curd, this plant needs abundant moisture.
- If your garden soil is sandy, then ensure that you’ll water the plant more often.
- You must water cauliflower plant one inch per week.
- One inch of water will moist the soil up-to 10 inches. In case of clay soil only 6 inches will be moist.
- Depending on your soil type you must increase or decrease the frequency of watering.
- Mulching is one of the best ways to slow down water evaporation into atmosphere. Cover your cauliflower plant with hay grass, this will ensure that the soil stays moist for longer time.
- Apart from watering, cauliflower plant needs adequate amount of sunlight and fertilizers like phosphorus and potassium.
- Clean gardening tools before using them in your garden. This will avoid spread of insecticides and diseases.
Conclusion
It is very important to know needs of your plant before growing them.
Watering is one such important factor.
Out of curiosity and lack of knowledge, most new gardeners end-up overwatering or underwatering the plants.
Water needs of vegetable plants are different from succulents.
Unlike houseplants, vegetable plants need frequent watering to produce food.
However, cauliflower plant does well in the soil that drains excess water but retains moisture at the same time.
So, while choosing potting soil to grow cauliflower make sure it drains well and holds moisture for longer time.
With good soil and adequate amount of sunlight, your cauliflower plant needs 1-2 times of watering per week. You can increase and decrease the frequency as climate changes.