The ancestor of all edible cabbage varieties is the wild variety Brassica oleracea.Even today it can be found on the shores of the North Sea in Germany, the Atlantic coast in France and the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.It is used to create various forms with edible, tasty leaves or flowers.
Among autumn leafy speci alties we can find conical cabbage. Its 'Filderkraut' variety produces heads with delicate leaves with thin veins and weighing up to 5 kg.From finely chopped and s alted leaves we get delicious sauerkraut.
Savoy cabbage is sharper in taste and much less sensitive to frost than white and red cabbage. Late varieties are grown for winter harvesting and may even survive the entire winter in the flower bed. They differ from the early varieties with dark green, wrinkled leaves with a blister-like surface. On warm autumn days, the cabbage heads keep growing.Mounding strengthens their stability and protects the roots from freezing.
Kale is the most similar to wild vegetable cabbage.Its cultivars, however, are taller and have more or less wrinkled leaves.Gourmets like the middle or top leaves the most and usually leave the lowest, almost completely smooth leaves on the stem. Harvesting of the Tuscan (palm) kale takes place in October.This southern variety has leaves, the taste of which does not have to be improved by frost.Compared to other cruciferous kale, it contains the most vitamin C. In order not to lose too much of it, the leaves should not be boiled for too long or reheated several times.
Brussels sprouts are hard to confuse with their relatives. Densely spaced leaves on long petioles grow on a strong and thick shoot, 60-100 cm high. At their roots, miniature cabbage heads develop, which are lateral shoots reduced to the buds. 20-40 heads can grow on one shoot. The tastiest ones are 2-3 cm in diameter.Like all deciduous and headed varieties, Brussels sprouts need a lot of water and good fertilization when they develop at their most.The leaves should not be cut off as they protect the buds from rain and wind.
Delicious savoy cabbage salad!
Parsley for late sowing
Leaf parsley is mainly used for winter cultivation.Its seeds are sown from August to mid-September.Part of the bed can be covered with fleece after sowing to accelerate plant growth. In this way, we will provide ourselves with a fresh portion of greens in late autumn and winter.The most commonly grown varieties are: 'Paramount', 'Karnaval', 'Vita', 'Novas'.
In the case of root parsley, you can use the so-called pre-winter sowing. The seeds are sown in November or early December ("Berlińska", "Sugar", "Lenka", "Omega") so that they have time to swell, but not sprout before the onset of frosts. A similar method of sowing is also used for carrots ("Perfection", "Ambros", "Dolanka" and many others).Thanks to this, the crop is obtained several weeks earlier compared to the spring crop.
Rarely cultivated, though sometimes sold as root parsley, is parsnip.Its roots do resemble parsley, but vary in size and aroma.Parsnips have a carrot-parsley flavor, the taste is quite pronounced, a bit spicy. A milder taste is obtained by harvesting the roots after the first frost.
