Brassicas aka Crucifers aka Cole Crops

The gorgeous Kalibos Cabbage – Heritage variety with conical red head and crinkled core.

Given its humble beginnings as a leafy wild plant, what is now Brassica oleracea has had quite a culinary history becoming European kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, collards, and kohlrabi! Brassica napus became Siberian kale, Canola and Rutabaga. Brassica rapa was developed into mustards, rapini/brocclini/broccoli raab, Chinese cabbages and turnip. There are also Brassica juncea species mustards and more! These are collectively known as brassicas and have broadly similar likes and dislikes, including pest and disease susceptibilities. B. oleracea types have waxier, stiffer leaves and B. napus and rapa can have more delicate or fairer leaves. Cabbages can be long or short season, smooth or savoyed (puckered) leaf, conical or more round headed. They all share the four petalled flower – sometimes white but mostly yellow – that gives rise to their other group name: the crucifers or ‘cross’ flowers. You’ll also hear cole crops which I guess is latin for stem so these are crops on a stick essentially and is an apt description of many B. oleracea types.

WongBok Chinese Cabbage for fall harvest

Large leafed cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts look gorgeous in the garden. They usually need to be started about 6 weeks before planting out in warm weather. They will take cool temperatures, in fact they prefer moderation for best growth, but if they are exposed to winter temperatures for too long may go to flower too soon. The vegetable part of the cabbage and brussel sprouts are wrapper leaves around the flower. These will normally not go to flower until after winter (and they are challenging to overwinter in Ottawa without cold storage or some special protection). Whereas with broccoli, cauliflower, and rapini it is a bunched flowerbuds that we eat just before opening.

A fancy kale/broccoli: Purple Peacock

Both turnip and rutabaga are swollen storage roots and biennial, meaning that we don’t want them to flower in their first year. They are both direct sown in the spring and throughout the year as long as they have enough time to mature. Kholrabi is one of the more unusual types as it is a swollen stem and can be given a short head start or direct sown.

Red Giant Mustard – gorgeous cool season vegetable, very decorative and tasty.

Lastly are the leaf types like kale, collards and mustards. Kale and collards will do well enough in the heat as they don’t typically flower until the next year but mustards bolt quickly in heat. These are the easiest to grow if you have trouble with ‘heading’ varieties. It’s fun to note that the heading group of B. oleracea is known as capitata and the kale or non heading group is known as acephala. Literally no head!

Truly beautiful in the fall garden as the purple coloration becomes stronger in the cold. Deadon Cabbage

Cole crops have a long and venerable history of cultivation. As they overwinter in milder winter areas, they were available in the outside larder or kale yards. In colder areas, they are stored in some way including in a cellar or by lactofermenting to become things like kraut or kimchi.

We have a wide selection of all sorts of cole crops to add to your garden beauty and bounty!

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