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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] hardiness of cabbage, garlic?

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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] hardiness of cabbage, garlic?
  • Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:42:31 -0400

Bill, I suspect the flowers are also edible. Brassica flowers usually are, aren't they?

Some years ago, in a particularly thin spring after a moderately warm winter, I had leftover brussels sprouts bloom in the field. I took "brussels bloom" to market (didn't sell all that much of it, though.)

-- Rivka


On Apr 28, 2012, at 10:49 AM, Shoemaker, William H wrote:

Caulifower is well-known to button if exposed to sub-freezing temperatures while young transplants. However, I've never soon broccoli or cabbage button. It doesn't seem likely in cabbage because the buttoning is a stress response which pushes the plant to transition early from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. The cauliflower head is essentially a premature floral structure, so the "button" is a tiny floral structure. Cabbage, on the other hand, is just vegetative growth turned into itself to form the head. Broccoli is the most cold tolerant of the major brassicas so it probably wouldn't button either. At least, I've never seen it in my career, or heard of it for that matter.

 

I did have the opportunity to see cabbage flower this Spring. I had cabbage overwinter quite healthy in the tunnel. It was pretty mature so it vernalized and shifted to reproductive growth. Once it warmed up in March it started pushing up flower stalks and is in bloom. I'll be removing it next week, but its been interesting to see. The yellow flowers on the red cabbage are actually quite pretty.

 

Bill
William H. Shoemaker
University of Illinois, Crop Sciences
St Charles Horticulture Research Center
535 Randall Road, St Charles, IL  60174




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