Me and my first cabbage – holes and all! Photo by Kat Pearson.
BY KAT PEARSON, GIRL IN THE GREEN
Did you eat green trees growing up? The seemingly number one hated childhood food was broccoli. I can’t remember what I really thought of it as a child, but now I LOVE broccoli, Brussels sprouts (roasted in lots of oil with bacon), cauliflower (smothered in cheese or roasted with spices), and even kale, mostly, though I can’t get onto the kale chips thing.
Now, why have I derailed my broccoli conversation to a bunch of other brassicas? Because they’re all the same! Ok, they’re not exactly the same; they have all been bred and selected over hundreds (thousands?) of years to be special in their own way, but they are all actually the same species – Brassica oleracea.
Usually, when I think of varieties of the same species, I’m thinking of different coloured flowers or maybe a slightly different growth habit. The difference in Brassica oleracea varieties is huge! They range from the tight, unopened flower head of a broccoli to the balls of leaves up the stalk of a Brussels sprout plant to the swollen base of kohlrabi!
Brassicas are a cooler climate crop, so in the subtropics, we tend to grow them in winter. Brussels sprouts are tricky because they really need a good frost to make them sweet, but lots of the other brassicas are great to put in your winter garden. I’ve even had fun growing cabbages! Winter is also when the pesky white cabbage butterfly is less active. Although personally, I think they look lovely flitting about the garden; they lay their eggs on brassicas, and the newly hatched caterpillars will decimate your crop in seconds! You can try fake butterflies, or use products such as DiPel® (an organic spray), but netting to prevent butterfly access is usually the most successful.
If you do give Brassicas a go, don’t forget the whole plant is edible. Pluck some leaves off while you wait for broccoli heads – they are great in pasta sauce, and if the caterpillars got to them and they have a few holes – who cares!
