Question
I am growing brocoverde variety of cauliflower. The plants have nice heads which look to be ready for harvest. Should I pull the whole plant or just cut the head off? I am in Phoenix, AZ

Answer
Eric, I would pull the whole plant.  I am a big advocate of succession gardening.  This is the process of replacing one crop with another immediately following harvesting.  You can replace the cauliflower with beans, carrots, beets, or another crop of your choice.

Some gardeners will harvest just the main head and leave the cauliflower plant in the bed to harvest the sideshoots, the little mini-heads that often form on the sides of the plant.  These are very prevalent in broccoli, but produce to a far lesser extent on cauliflower. I find that the amount of heads that you get is not worth the valuable space that could be used for another sowing of a different vegetable.

I hope this answered your question.  Good luck, and have a great weekend.

Regards,

Mike