Edible Heirloom Garden. Rosalind Creasy
storage beet; wonderful for roasting in coals
How to prepare: The “keeper” beets take a little longer to cook but are still the best for making borscht, pickling, or baking. Debra Friedman recounts, “Back in Colonial times, the tops were used as well as the roots. The beets themselves, with their fairly tough skins, could be roasted as potatoes might be—whole in the embers of the fire.” Today you can bake them in a covered casserole to closely duplicate this presentation (see page 86 Steam the greens and serve them with butter.
CABBAGES
Broccoli, Sprouting Brassica
oleracea var. italica
Brussels Sprouts
B. oleracea var. gemmifera
Cabbage, Heading and Savoy
Brassica oleracea var. capitata; B. o. var. bullata
Cauliflower
B. oleracea var. botrytis
Collards
B. oleracea var. acephala
Kale
B. oleracea var. acephala
Cabbage is the progenitor of many other vegetables, often called cole crops: broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and kale. Brussels sprouts are essentially tiny cabbages that pop out along the length of the plant stem. Broccolis are but the flowering stems of plants that evolved from ancient cabbages. Collards are large-leafed, nonheading greens that are a cross between cabbage and kale. Knowing that all these vegetables are related is important because related plants often fall prey to the same pests and can interbreed and so upset your seed-saving efforts.
How to grow: Cole crops are best grown as cool-season annuals. Collards prefer cool weather but can do quite well in hot weather too. All need full sun, or light shade in hot climates. Transplants of heirloom cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are seldom available from local nurseries. Start seeds indoors eight weeks before your last average frost date. (Plant cauliflower a little earlier, as it grows more slowly.) Transplant seedlings into rich soil filled with organic matter about two weeks before the last average frost date. Cabbage and broccoli seeds or plants can also be planted in midsummer for a fall crop. Space small varieties of cabbage 1 foot apart and larger ones 2 feet apart. Broccoli and cauliflower plants should be spaced 2 feet apart. Cabbages tend to be top-heavy; when transplanting, place them lower in the soil—up to their first set of true leaves (the first leaves after the seed leaves). Start brussels sprouts about four weeks before the last average frost date and transplant them in a month. Space the plants 2 feet apart. Kale and collards can be started from seed in early spring, but most gardeners start them midsummer. Plant collard and kale seeds ½ inch deep, 1 inch apart, and then thin seedlings to 18 inches apart.
‘Winningstädt’ cabbage at Old Sturbridge Village
‘Long Island Improved’ brussels sprouts
‘Early Purple Sprouting’ broccoli
‘Early Jersey Wakefield’ cabbage
Most cole family seedlings are heavy feeders, so add a balanced organic fertilizer: 1 cup worked into the soil around each plant at planting time. Side dress with blood meal or other organic nitrogen fertilizer worked into the soil a month after planting. Kale and collards need a bit less fertilizer. All cole crops need regular and even watering and a substantial mulch.
All cabbage family members are susceptible to the same pests and diseases, though kale and collards tend to have far fewer problems. Flea beetles, imported cabbageworm, cabbage root fly, and cutworms are potential problems. Prevent these pests with floating row covers. Rotate members of the cabbage family with other vegetable families to prevent diseases.
Harvest cabbages anytime after they have started to form a decent head but before they become so large that they split. Mature cabbages can take temperatures as low as 20°F. If you expect a hard freeze, harvest all your cabbages and store them in a cool place. Harvest broccoli when the buds begin to swell but before they open. Once the primary head is harvested, many smaller heads form. If planted in late summer, broccoli will produce into fall and can withstand light frosts. Cauliflower heads need protection from the sun. Modern varieties have leaves that grow over the head, but most heirlooms need to have the leaves tied up around the head a few weeks before harvesting. Harvest cauliflower heads at the base when they are very full but before the curds (the partially developed flower heads) begin to separate.
Harvest brussels sprouts in the fall or winter, when frost improves their flavor. Toward the end of their development, cut off the growing tip of each plant and remove the leaves growing between the sprouts. This diverts the plant’s remaining energy to developing the sprouts. If the plants are kept well mulched with straw, sprouts often develop and mature well into the winter. Brussels sprouts mature up the stem, from the bottom to the top, so harvest a few at a time in that direction. Harvest them when they’re no larger than 1 inch in diameter.
Harvest a few very young kale leaves at a time as they are needed for salads, or use mature kale leaves for cooked dishes. The flavor and color of kale improve after a frost, and kale winters over in most climates. In the very coldest areas, cover kale with floating row covers.
Harvest collard leaves while they are young. If harvested a few leaves at a time, collards produce over a long period. Like kale, collards are valuable as a fall crop since their flavor sweetens with frost.
Varieties
Broccoli
‘Calabrese’: 58 days, 1880s, Italian heirloom green sprouting broccoli with a long season of side shoots after main head is cut
Collards
Collection of kale
‘Russian Red’ kale
‘Early Purple Spouting’: 125 days, before 1835, 2 to 3 feet high, very hardy, purple-green leaves, purple flower buds
Brussels Sprouts
‘Bedford Fillbasket’: 85 to 100 days, large sprouts, good yields
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