Brassicas are a fascinating genus of plants that are sometimes called cruciferous veggies. They include many of our favorites: cabbage, kale, collards, cauliflower, bok choy, mustards, cauliflower, napa cabbage, arugula, radishes, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Wow that’s a long list! But wait there’s more! (Seriously there are even more)
Many of them are actually in the same species as well – Brassica oleracea. These are cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, collards, kohlrabi, and cauliflower. The vast differences in how all these look is quite amazing to me. They all originated from a wild Cabbage that grew originally on the seaside of southwestern Europe. Over many, many generations humans selected for the traits they preferred starting with larger leaves like kale then leaves that form a head like cabbage. Later people selected for plants that produced larger and larger immature flower buds which is how we got broccoli. And somewhere along the way they selected plants whose swollen stem was tender and tasty and that’s how we got kohlrabi.
There are lots of good reasons to grow brassicas. For one, they taste great! They grow fast and give you something to eat much faster than many other crops such as tomatoes, pumpkins, and eggplants. They love this time of year as well (more about that further down). And they are very healthy for us. There are many studies suggesting that brassicas contain cancer fighting compounds. They also have high levels of many vitamins and minerals.
By the way if you don’t like these vegetables it may be because you are one of the few people who can detect the bitter taste of one of its compounds. Most of us can’t detect the bitterness in it. My husband, Tom (also co-owner of East Hill Edible Gardening) can detect this compound. He’ll eat small quantities of these veggies because he knows they‘re good for him, but says he much prefers them in their raw state. Although he does enjoy a homemade cauliflower crust pizza!
And if you grew up thinking that these vegetables are smelly that’s all about the cooking technique. Brassicas have naturally occurring sulphur containing compounds. When cooked under certain conditions these compounds breakdown and can release sulphur into the air. Sulphur is the same thing that makes rotten eggs smell bad so no wonder.
I forget how it works but I once read a book on the science of cooking that explained that boiling these vegetables with the lid completely on the pot leads to this phenomenon – something about these compounds being trapped inside the pot causing them to degrade. If you want to boil say cabbage or a big “mess“ of collard greens, but want them to smell and taste GOOD then you simply need to make sure that you leave the lid ajar so that these Sulphur containing compounds can leave the pot. If only you could go back in time and tell your mom that!
These plants grow well for much of the year here – about September until about April for most. They are outstanding in cooler weather and can take some amount of freezing as well. How much below freezing depends on the type and variety of plant. Broccolis generally can survive down to about 25 degrees whereas some collards and kales can survive temperatures below 20.
How they survive is quite interesting. Have you heard that brassicas such as kale taste sweeter after a freeze? It’s true! Remember how water expands when it freezes? When water inside a plant’s cells freezes it causes the cell to rupture which damages or even kills the plant. Brassicas have developed a clever mechanism to protect against freezing. When temperatures approach freezing the plant converts starches into sugars. Sugars freeze at lower temperatures than water so the sugars act like an anti-freeze! And its those sugars which give kales and other brassicas such a lovely sweet taste.
This time of year we carry a wide selection of Brassica plants for your garden. At the end of this article is an example of the variety of brassicas we are bringing to our market on the week that I’m posting this article.
In the coming weeks we will add other Brassicas such as watercress and horseradish and many other yummy veggies. Of course we carry a large selection of every other vegetable and many herbs that do well this time of year – lettuces, radicchio, dill, fennel bulb, snow peas, endive, fava beans, walking onions, elephant garlic, calendula, and many others.
Currently you can find us set up in downtown Pensacola Saturdays 9-2 on the corner of Alcaniz and Jackson Streets. This is subject to change so please keep up with our Facebook or Instagram posts. Every Friday we post our inventory and confirm our location. Our set up is VERY safe with built-in physical distancing.
Here’s a selection of the Brassicas we’re bringing to market on Saturday, October 24th, 2020. Our inventory changes from week-to-week so please check our social media pages for the most up-to-date info:
Cabbage – Early Golden Acre
Napa Cabbage – Wong Bok
Broccoli
-Waltham
-Calabrese
Cauliflower
– Early snowball
– Romanesco
Bok Choy
– Suzhou Baby – Purple Lady
Brussels Sprouts Catskills
Mustards
– Southern Giant Curled
– Red Giant
Collards
– Alabama Blue
– Georgia Southern
Kales
– Red & Green Russian
– Blue Curled Vates
– Thousand head kale
– Lacinato
– Walking stick kale