#brassicas

[scribefindegil]

Wake up babe new brassica lore just dropped!

#vegetable lore #brassicas

[los-plantalones]

Another invasive (but delicious edible) plant that plagues many a garden, especially on the western and eastern coasts of the US: cardamine hirsuta, or hairy bittercress.

This is a winter annual, and can be found absolutely Thriving long after other plants have died back from cold. This is the time they should be picked, whether for eating or for general removal. They come out of the ground easily, roots and all. If you plan on eating them, choose ones that haven’t gone to flower yet, as the leaves become bitter and tough.

Around mid-spring the plant goes to seed, and at that point you’re fucked – the seedpods will literally EXPLODE at the slightest touch. (I’ve walked through places where they were unavoidable, and it sounds like tiny popcorn!) That’s why they spread so prolifically.

Okay, but what does it taste like? Even though it’s called bittercress, it’s not bitter at all. It’s very similar to other plants in the brassica family… if you like mustard, cress, or arugula, you will like hairy bittercress! It’s slightly peppery, a little mustardy, and more mild than the name suggests. It’s best used raw in salads or sandwiches.

Now go munch on/population control some of those cressy bastards.

#cardamine hirsuta #hairy bittercress #foraging #edible plants #brassicas #US invasive plants #my photos #los plantalones

[inthecityofgoodabode]

October 2023: The Last Weekend Before Halloween

I've served my corporate overlords for 20 year so they let me pick something out of the company store. Unlike some overlords I've served in the past, they have things someone might actually want in their store. I went with the Le Creuset set... I've been wanting to get a Dutch oven for awhile:

We have a freeze warning for Halloween & All Saints' Day so we've been pulling in anything that wouldn't survive the free like these tomatoes:

And these sweet potatoes because cold can negatively affect the flavor & storability of sweet potatoes:

We also covered our brassicas in the hopes they won't suffer any damage:

#le creuset #skillet #dutch oven #garden #backyard garden #homegrown vegetables #tomatoes #green tomatoes #sweet potatoes #harvest #freeze warning #brassicas #prepping the garden for a freeze #life in memphis #halloween #all saints day #gardening

[thechickendaddy]

Brassicas are some of the cold hardiest plants you can grow as a gardener. A few frosts and even snow really doesn’t deter these plants from growing and will even enhance the flavor in some. I plant my brassicas in late summer for a late fall/early winter crop. Late November with snow on the ground and I’m still pulling food out of the garden.

The brassica family consists of cauliflower, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, arugula, bok choy, radishes and cabbage. If you’re a gardener in a colder climate brassicas are a great choice to grow vitamin rich, cold hardy food

#gardeners on tumblr #neohio #grow your own #brassicas #broccoli #swiss chard #suburban farming #suburban homestead #mine

[oldmanbayou]

on the timing of brassicas

IT HAS BEGUN!

I am trying an experiment with my brassicas where I am not following the Farmers Almanac planting guidelines AT ALL. They advise zone 5ers to start seeds indoors in  March. I have struggled immensely with brassicas following that schedule. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts take months to reach maturity and just die or bolt in the hot weather. I usually manage to grow a some successfully on any given year (never brussel sprouts though), but I’d say about 90% of my brassicas don’t make it to the plate. This time, I started mine in January with the intent of transplanting in early spring. 

They may germinate faster in warmer temperatures, but brassicas do better growing in cool soil between 40-60. My soil temp reads 50. I do not understand the March seed starting date. That would mean getting them in the ground by May to mature in 60+ degree soil. Dates are determined by frost hardiness. Brassicas *need* frost for flavor and should be in the ground with some frost. 

If it gets freaky cold, I'll just cover them. So far, so good...I have some back-up seedlings that were started “on schedule” as an insurance policy. 

#brassicas #broccoli #cauliflower #gardening #when to plant

[petula-xx]

Home grown Kailaan broccoli dressed with oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and vegetable oil served on a bed of Jasmine rice.

Edible greens are an essential part of my home vegie patch. This veg went from paddock to plate in about 30 minutes.

#kailaan broccoli #brassicas #leafy greens #gardeners on tumblr #vegetables #home grown #grow it yourself #home cooking #organic food #vegie patch

[intrinsically-disordered-proxein]

we are not getting out of the plant blog allegations with this one

#the left is lettuce and the right is cabbage (brassica) if that was not clear #i am a brassica stan through and through #biology #botany #plant genetics #idek what these tags are i need to sort these at some point

[jazzeria]

I live in Canada and want to make a substitute for Sichuanese ya cai using ingredients that are easy to find here (or possibly: vegetables that I can easily buy the seeds for and grow myself).

So far on my not-at-all-scientific quest, I've tried these:

Stems from Collard Greens

Kale stems

Bagged kale slaw mix (broccoli, green cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, radicchio) with extra kale

They all have different seasonings (again: not-at-all-scientific!). One day, when I have the equipment and space for it, I may take a more rigorous approach and control the variables better.

For ease, I also skipped additional processing such as sun-wilting, boiling, and secondary fermentation. (This is meant to be a substitute: it should be less inconvenient than travelling to Chinatown to buy packs of Yibin 😅)

In the meantime, here's how it's going for me:

Kale Slaw

(Photos taken: 31 July)

The oldest ferment is the kale slaw, about 1 month old today, and it tastes the closest to storebought ya cai, in my opinion. I wonder whether it's one ingredient that makes it taste so similar, or the combination. I'll have try fermenting broccoli stems alone!

The brine is almost opaque, murky, with a dull olive colour. It's also not very salty (I think it was 2.5% salt by weight), so I added a little more before putting it back on the shelf.

The texture is not the crunchiest (this contains both leaves and stems), but also not unpleasant (not soft, not chewy, not tough).

Seasonings: cracked black pepper, garlic.

Stems from Collard Greens

(Photos taken: 24 July)

The collards stems are about 15 days old. They have an intensely bitter taste, which I imagine is what children who don't like broccoli must perceive. It's almost repulsive. But I'm willing to let it keep stewing and try again in a few weeks, because I think it tastes less awful than it did a few days ago!

I also wonder if the intensely bitter flavour comes from any of the seasonings I used (cooking wine, prickly ash (aka: Sichuan pepper, wild pepper), black peppercorns, yellow mustard seed, bird chilies, bay leaf, garlic).

The texture is crunchy. I think there might be an oily coating, or I'm experiencing the numbing effect of prickly ash, because when I first put it on my tongue, I can't really taste it--not until I bite down on it.

I'm unlikely to try this again, but only because my source for collard greens is across town.

Kale Stems

(Photos taken: 24 July)

The kale stems come from the common curly kale sold at the supermarket. The ferment is about 10 days old. It has the "kale" flavour of cooked kale, pleasant acidity, but also a subtle buttery flavour I wasn't expecting. It's not very similar to ya cai, but it's surprisingliy pleasant! The texture is crisp and juicy.

Seasonings: black peppercorns, yellow mustard seed, cooking wine, garlic.

(I've read that some people refuse to ferment kale because it stinks and tastes awful; this was my first time, so I was very skeptical about how it would turn out!)

#fermentation #ya cai #sui mi ya cai #Sichuanese cuisine #Chinese cuisine #Chinese cooking #Sichuan pickles #preserved vegetables #mustard stems #suimi ya cai #Yibin #kale #collard greens #brassicas #lactofermentation #fermented foods #Sichuanese #pickles #LAB fermentation #food

[todays-xkcd]

Sequoia Brussels sprouts are delicious but it's pretty hard to finish one.

Bassica [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[Cueball, Megan and another Cueball are standing in front of a Giant Sequoia] Cueball: Did you know the Mighty Redwood is actually the same species as broccoli and kale? It's just a different cultivar. Another Cueball: Wow! [Caption below the panel] Every year or two, botanists add another plant to Brassica oleracea and see if anyone calls them on it.

#xkcd #xkcd 2827 #brassica #botany #webcomics

[maybeasunflower]

The breeding of Brassicas

(Well, one of them). The original Brassica oleracea is known as "wild mustard" (because it tastes mustardy, even though it's not the species we use for mustard) or "wild cabbage" (because the leaves look like cabbage leaves). It's native to southern/western Europe.

Humans have bred this plant into some wildly different directions, resulting in the following:

I actually prefer the intent of the following picture, but some of the circles aren't quite well-placed.

All those plants are cultivars of the same species:

Kale are the oldest cultivar, appearing around 2000 BCE

Cabbage first appears around 1000 BCE. They were luxury in Roman times and a staple in medieval times.

Broccoli first appears around 6th Century BCE.

Cauliflower first appear in the 12th Century CE

Brussels sprouts in their familiar form appear in the 13th Century CE

Kohlrabi are first record in the 16th Century CE

Not shown here is gai lan, (literally "mustard orchid"), which looks to me like it was bred for leaves and flower buds. It's a distinct cultivar group, developed in China. I haven't been able to find out much about it - except it is crossed with broccoli to produce broccolini.

#Brassicas #Brassica oleracea #cultivars #kale #cabbage #broccoli #cauliflower #brussel sprouts #kohlrabi #gai lan

[scribefindegil]

Proof of the inscrutablity of vegetable genetics: broccoli is the same species as cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, and brussel sprouts, but it is NOT the same species as broccoli raab.

#vegetable lore #brassicas #broccoli blogging

[emperornorton47]

#brassica oleracea #redwoods #broccoli #Kale #jokes #funny memes #daily memes #lol #botany

[cassiefairy]

Allotment love - Making a big mesh tunnel on my plot and planting brassicas

Something that I'm really pleased with on my plot is the insect-proof mesh tunnel that we've built using old water pipes. It has been really helpful in keeping my brassicas safe from 'brassica massacre' - here are the latest pics from my plot...

Earlier this week I shared a quick DIY project to make an insect-proof mesh tunnel to cover my little raised veg bed at home. It was great for keeping birds away from pecking my seedlings AND so far it has protected my crops from bugs and butterflies too. I’ve taken the idea one step further on my allotment and have made a larger mesh tunnel to grow my cauliflower and red cabbages in. Last year,…

View On WordPress

#allotment #brassicas #cabbages #diy #grow tunnel #grow your own #growing vegetables #insect mesh #kitchen garden #veggie plot

[thechickendaddy]

Kohlrabi and broccoli

With the temperatures hovering in the 60s throughout the day this is the time for the brassicas to really shine. They’re a cool weather crop, so while most of the garden is winding down these crops are hitting full stride

#gardeners on tumblr #neohio #grow your own #brassicas #suburban farming #suburban homestead #mine

[rosemaryprosser]

In the wake of spring III (2024)

#photographers on tumblr #fine art photography #photooftheday #rosemary prosser #rosie anne prosser #self portrait artist #female artists #selfportraitphotography #yellow flowers #brassica #wild mustard flower

[petula-xx]

These pretty beauties are my first attempt at growing Red Rubine Brussels Sprouts. They are interplanted with some Kailaan Broccoli.

The purple coloured sprouts are a long way off yet. However, these netted babies are in great condition and doing well so far.

#brussels sprouts #Red Rubine brussels sprouts #brassicas #gardeners on tumblr #vegetables #home grown #grow it yourself #plants #self sufficiency #heirloom varieties #organic gardening