FAMILY MATTERS BURGEONING BRASSICAS

In the second of our series exploring the major groups of plants essential to kitchen gardeners, KG editor Steve Ott turns the spotlight on the cabbage family

- Steve Ott

Despite the new wave of trendy and exotic veg that has grabbed our attention in recent years, the cabbage family (brassicaceae) endures and is still a favourite on allotment plots everywhere. This important family includes all of those leafy greens we know and love, including cabbages (of course), kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, but also some common crops that you may not realise are related including mizuna, mustard, kohl rabi, turnip and swede.

The brassica family, also known collectively as crucifers or cruciferous crops, is huge and importantly also takes in many common weeds to be found in the UK such as shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), hairy bitter-cress (Cardamine hirsuta) and garlic mustard (Alliariapetiolata). It is important to identify your cruciferous weeds as they may harbour pests and diseases which will attack your crops.

FAMILIAR BRASSICAS

Although there are many species of brassica, only a relatively small selection are commonly grown in the UK. Brassicas are also genetically promiscuous and often share genes, having crossed and back-crossed during the course of their long history.

Perhaps the most important species for UK gardeners is Brassica oleracea, and this includes such firm favourites as cabbages (B. oleracea Capitata Group), broccoli and the more tender version commonly labelled as calabrese (B. oleracea Italica Group), cauliflower (B. oleracea Botrytis Group), kale (B. oleracea Acephala Group), Brussels sprouts (B. oleracea Gemmifera Group) and collard greens (B. oleracea Acephala Group). Acephala means ‘without a head’ or in this case ‘non-heading’. Both collard greens and kale are considered to be closest to the original wild cabbage and as such have probably been in cultivation over the longest period – at least 2000 years, but probably much longer.