If you are considering growing colorful cauliflower, I would check out Territorial Seed and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They have the best options. In addition to the traditional white cauliflower, they have green, purple and orange heads – how cool is that! Also, they have cauliflower that matures anywhere between 50 and 90 days. If you want to harvest cauliflower over an extended period, you can grow some with different maturity dates.
First we should discuss the colorful varieties first. . . 1) Orange – Territorial sells Orange Burst and Johnny’s sells Cheddar. I can attest that the orange or cheddar cauliflower has a very mild taste. In January, I attended a conference in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria. They had this type of cauliflower with their appetizers at a cocktail party.  It was interesting to listen to the comments made. I think some people thought it the cauliflower was colored with food dye! 2) Purple – Territorial sells Purple of Sicily which turns green when cooked and is insect resistant and Johnny’s sells Graffiti which is better for a fall harvest. 3) Green – Vitaverde from Johnny’s likes both the cool and warm weather. While I appreciate that this variety likes warm weather, I’ve already made a decision to grow Veronica Romanesco.
At this poiont, I am undecided whether I will grow an orange or a purple variety.
As for a white cauliflower, I would consider the fast maturing option of Snow Crown which matures in 50 days.
Stay tuned because this may be the year that I master growing cauliflower!
