Cauliflower Most gardeners run into needless trouble with cauliflower when it's time to blanch the heads. The reason you blanch cauliflower when it's growing is to make the head white and tender. It sounds as though it might be hard to do, but you only need to cover the young head before the sunlight hits it. As soon as the head is 3 to 4 inches across, shield it from light by loosely tying or pinning the large outer leaves over the cauliflower head. It's even easier if you simply bend the leaves over on all sides of the head and tuck them under it on the opposite side.
Light stays out, but air circulation seems better than when the leaves are secuured at the top.
Check the heads daily after blanching, and start harvesting as soon as the first head is snowy white. You may have to harvest one or two heads a day because cauliflower loses its fine texture and taste as soon as the tight buds start to loosen. There are self-blanching cauliflower varieties that also work well. For the best results with the pruning method, snap off all the leaves on the bottom 6 inches of stalk when the plant is well established and the buds have just started to develop. The leaves break most easily in the morning when they're crisp from the dew.