Characteristics of the cabbage

Fall is beckoning, and that means it is time to plant the fall garden. There are several crops which can be successfully grown in the cooler autumn environment. Many of these fall within the family of plants known as cabbages. Today, I would like to share with you some of the characteristics of the cabbage clan.

Over the course of hundreds of years, man has selected plants from within the cabbage family (Brassica oleracea) for various traits desirable to him and directed his breeding to arrive at various cultivars, each providing some distinctive qualities. For example, plants with tightly growing leaves were selected, resulting in our modern day cabbages. Other plants were selected for their loose crown of leaves, resulting in the modern versions of kale and collards. The stems of others have been observed to swell into tasty, crunchy bulbs, which we call kohlrabi. The flower buds of some members of the family have been encouraged to grow into tender and tasty clumps, forming broccoli and cauliflower. And finally, Brussels sprouts came about as a result of the axillary buds (buds found along the stem) forming tiny, tender heads of their own.

Known collectively as cole crops, these tasty garden favorites probably originated in the Mediterranean area, with kale probably the first type to be cultivated some 2,000 years ago. By the 15th century, Europeans were reportedly already growing kohlrabi and cauliflower. Broccoli came along later and was raised almost exclusively in Italy, while Brussels sprouts were developed in Belgium in the mid-18th century.

As a group, the cole crops are a dieter’s dream. They tend to be high in vitamins and very low in calories. For example, one stalk of cooked broccoli will provide more than your daily vitamin A allowance, nearly four times your vitamin C requirement, one-third of the required riboflavin, and 15 percent of your necessary vitamin B-6, all for only 47 calories! All cole crops are loaded with vitamin C, especially when eaten raw.

How cole crops grow is worthy of our attention. All of them start out as seedlings with a pair of heart-shaped leaves, and at this early stage, look identical. Later, as the true leaves appear, some differences, mainly in leaf color and shape, can be detected.

Cole crops have four distinct stages of growth. First, the plant sends stem and leaves aboveground. Second, the outer leaves expand.

What occurs during the third stage, when the outer leaves develop into nutrient storage areas, has a direct effect on the abundance of the harvest. During this stage, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from the soil are stored within the outer leaves. As a cabbage head forms, for example, these nutrients are quickly shuttled from the outer leaves to the developing head. Because the head forms so rapidly, the roots are unable to pump minerals fast enough to keep up with the expansion going on aboveground.

When scientists researching the cabbage deprived plants of nitrogen during this third stage, small heads resulted even though plenty of nitrogen was given during the actual heading stage. There’s a lesson in this for gardeners – it is important to grow cole crops in a fertile soil and feed them well from the very beginning, or the crops will be very puny. Even a dose of fast-acting nitrogen given at the time the final crop is developing – the fourth stage – won’t help. It will be too late.

Next: More on cole crops!

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