Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4
THE CHINESE CABBAGES
I've called this chapter “The Chinese Cabbages”
to point out the fact that there are so
many different kinds. As a group, they are one of our most ancient vegetables. Botanists
can't determine where Chinese cabbages originated because they've been cultivated for
thousands of years and are now found from Newfoundland to southern China. Celts may
have brought them to the British Isles, but they were grown in Asia long before that time.
Some of the early varieties grown in the United States (where it's been cultivated since
1900) came from Germany or Holland. In recent years, new varieties have been coming
in from Japan and China, so now you can see more types of Chinese cabbages in your
local supermarket and farmer's markets.
Almost every vegetable catalog offers at least one Chinese cabbage variety, but it's
worth sending for catalogs that offer more of a selection. Read the descriptions care-
fully; sometimes the cabbages and mustards are hard to tell apart The heading types are
the true Chinese cabbages,
Brassica rapa
Pekinensis Group. The leafy types are Chinese
mustard,
B. juncea
(see page 11). In addition, flowering kale is a colorful vegetable most
often grown purely as an ornamental. Finally, Chinese broccoli is similar to our more fa-
miliar broccoli but different enough to be worth space in your garden.
Flowering Kale
W
U
T
OU
G
AN
L
AN
, H
WA
C
HOY
Brassica oleracea
Acephala Group
(color photo, page xii)
This vegetable is so beautiful that many gardeners grow it as an ornamental, never
knowing it is edible. If you wonder why you haven't noticed it in seed catalogs, it may be
because you've been looking at vegetables and it's in the flower section. Only recently
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