Growing Brassicas

There is no more powerful family in the world of superfoods than the brassicas.

Brassicas include many plants from turnips to Brussels sprouts to mustard. Incredibly, every single one of the brassicas that we cultivate today was once a single, fairly boring wild plant. Yes, all of the plants on this page and more have a single common ancestor.

How did that happen? It was a combination of wild mutation and domestic hybridisation. Plants with certain characteristics were bred to emphasise those traits.

The result is that we now have brassicas that specialise in certain parts of the plant. For example, the axillary buds in Brussels sprouts. Or the flowers in broccoli and cauliflower, the leaves in kale and head cabbage, and the stalks in kohlrabi. It’s quite phenomenal. Let’s have a closer look at the various descendants of that solitary wild cabbage.

Cabbage

The humble cabbage gets a bad rap but that’s because in the past it was always overboiled and grey! Some cooks argue that this is one of the best vegetables to cook with. This is due to the fact that it can be used in a hundred different ways in the kitchen. You can roast cabbage with Parmesan, use it in crunchy salads and make elegant cabbage egg rolls.

Cabbage is also a star performer in the garden because it can be grown during all seasons here in SA. Don’t sow in winter in areas that receive heavy frost or in summer in very humid conditions.

Cabbages grow bigger than you think, so space them 50cm apart. Plant them full sun in rich soil. Make sure to add plenty of mature compost to the soil before planting as cabbages are heavy feeders. Harvest the head when it is a good size and is firm and dense. Leaving it too long means it might split.

Seed and seedlings are readily available for this brassica. Look out for varieties such as ‘Drumhead’, ‘Brunswick’, ‘Savoy’, ‘Star 3316’, ‘Glory of Enkhuizen’, ‘Conquistador’ and ‘Cape Spitz’ or ‘Sugar Loaf’. There are also baby varieties available.

Pests to watch out for include snails, cabbage white butterflies, cabbage aphids, normal aphids and cabbage moths.

Broccoli

“Eat your broccoli kids,” says every mother, everywhere, and with good reason – this is a real nutritional powerhouse. Most of us cook it, but broccoli can also be eaten raw and this is when it is most nutritious. Broccoli is high in Vitamins K, C, A and B9. It also has potassium, selenium and phosphorous, while the high fibre and protein content make broccoli great for weight loss. If you need to add more broccoli to your diet, try roasted broccoli with garlic, lemon and parmesan – it’s sensational.

Broccoli needs rich soil with loads of compost added. Firm loamy soil with a high clay content helps to prevent these top-heavy plants from falling over in the wind. All fertiliser when the heads start to form to increase your yield. Broccoli is a great cool-weather crop. Remember to leave the plant in the ground after harvesting the main head so that side shoots form and then be harvested.

When choosing varieties to plant, please give the very beautiful ‘Romanesco’ a try, even if it’s just for aesthetic reasons or purple broccoli. For a good harvest, some of the tried-and-tested varieties include ‘Parthenon’, ‘Topaz’ and ‘Star 2204’. If you want long-stemmed broccoli for eating in salads, ‘Green Sprouting Calabrese’ is a good heirloom option.

Cauliflower

Probably the most elegant of the cruciferous vegetables, the cauliflower is derived from the flower of that distant relative. Yip, it’s not just a clever name – we harvest and eat the flower of this lovely veggie.

Cauliflower can be roasted, boiled, steamed or even pickled. There are few more comforting foods than cauliflower in cheese sauce. For a low-carb diet, cauliflower can be used as a substitute for everything from pizza bases to rice to mash.

In terms of nutritional value, cauliflower is full of antioxidants and vitamins, including a number that are thought to combat cancer cells. It’s also great for weight loss, thanks to the low-calorie content.

It is a little harder to grow cauliflowers than it is broccoli or cabbage, but with a little care, you’ll get a bountiful return on your investment. They’re a cool-season crop and so should be sown or planted out in early to mid-summer. Plant in rich soil and add compost or slow-release organic fertiliser to the hole. Making sure the soil doesn’t dry out is key. Once the heads have started to form, fold a few leaves over them and tie them together to prevent the heads from yellowing.

The heirloom variety ‘Snowball’ produces lovely white heads, but if you want something that stands out in the veggie patch and on the plate, try the purple ‘Violetta’ or the yellow ‘Cheese’.

Brussels Sprouts

It’s no surprise that these look like tiny little cabbages, is it since they’re basically the same plant? The ‘sprouts’ that we harvest and eat are the buds that grow on the stem, and there can be up to 1kg produced on each plant. Surprisingly, Brussels sprouts contain a lot of vitamin C, as well as other beneficial nutrients.

For a good harvest, sow when it is warm so that the plants get off to a good start. In frost areas, this means sowing in summer, while in frost-free areas sowing can be continued into autumn. Either sow in trays and then plant out or sow directly into the soil. Remember, brassicas like full sun and rich soil, and don’t like it when the soil dries out. The sprouts are ready to harvest when they are 2-3cm in diameter, which takes about 90 days from sowing.

In the kitchen, there are so many ways to make the subtle flavour of sprouts shine. Instead of simply boiling them, roast them and serve with a lemony dressing. Or you can even sauté them at a high temperature to caramelise them and make them delicious.

‘Long Island’ and ‘Matchless’ are readily available varieties, and ‘Catskill’ is a nice heirloom variety that you’ll find if you’re lucky.

Kale

It’s no coincidence that most of the time a new veg health craze comes on the scene, it’s based on brassicas! Broccoli, cauliflower and kale spring to mind. Kale has been around for millennia, probably originating in the eastern Mediterranean area or what is now Turkey, but in modern society it was used mostly as a garnish until very recently. Now it is a big seller in demand worldwide.

Not only is kale one of the most nutrient-dense veggies around and a brilliant alternative to spinach or chard, but it is also easier to grow than some of the other brassicas. It’s less affected by the pests that usually bother brassicas like cabbage aphids, and it also copes well with both hot and humid weather, which means you can harvest leafy greens from your garden all four seasons of the year. Cold weather is when it is at its best though.

The most common kale seen in South Africa is ‘Chou Millier’, a curly kale with smooth, hairless leaves that are easy to cook with. Don’t limit yourself, though – a favourite of ours is a Tuscan variety that goes by a few names: ‘Dinosaur’ kale, Italian kale, black palm kale, cavolo nero or Nero di Toscana. It is a beautiful plant that stands up to 1m high and has the form of a little palm tree. Tastes good too.