(Chinese Broccoli)

Chinese broccoli is an annual vegetable long popular in Asia and increasingly grown in Western gardens. This cool-season green traces its ancestry to Brassica oleracea, a fleshy-leaved, short-lived perennial from coastal areas of western and southern Europe. It is grown for its loosely clustered green flower buds and pungent leaves, which are harvested and eaten before the flowers open. The flower buds are borne on thick erect stems furnished with blue-green, paddle-shaped, long-stalked...

(Cauliflower)

A pleasure to grow as well as to eat, cauliflower is an excellent choice for the cool-season vegetable garden. Grown as an annual, it traces its ancestry to Brassica oleracea, a fleshy-leaved, short-lived perennial from coastal areas of western and southern Europe. When mature, it produces large, fleshy, central heads of flower buds (called "curds"), which are harvested and eaten before the flowers open. The heads are borne on thick short stalks above whorls of long leathery blue-green leaves....

(Cabbage)

Available in many shapes and colors, cabbage forms large, dense heads of thick, fleshy leaves that are delicious eaten cooked or raw. Typically grown as an annual, this cool season vegetable is a fleshy-leaved, short-lived perennial that originates from the coastal areas of western and southern Europe. Chinese or napa cabbage belongs to another species, B. rapa.

Cabbages are categorized by their texture and color. Most have smooth, ribbed, somewhat leathery leaves with a...

(Brussels Sprouts)

The Brussels sprout is a cool season vegetable first cultivated in late medieval or renaissance Europe in what is now Belgium, then called Flanders. It was brought to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century and began to be heavily cultivated there in the mid-twentieth century. Typically grown as an annual, it traces its ancestry to Brassica oleracea, a fleshy-leaved, short-lived perennial from coastal areas of western and southern Europe.

Brussels sprout plants have strong...

(Kohlrabi)

Grown for its sweet, crunchy, bulbous stems, kohlrabi is one of many crops that descend from Brassica oleracea, an annual or short-lived perennial from Western Europe. It is a cool weather crop that is best grown in spring, fall or in winter where hard freezes don’t occur. The name “kohlrabi” roughly translates to "cabbage-turnip" in German; when fully mature it develops a bulbous, turnip-like base that sits on top of the soil and has leaves protruding from it. It must be harvested immediately...

(Broccoli)

One of the most familiar green vegetables, broccoli (also known as Italian or sprouting broccoli) is an excellent choice for the garden. Typically grown as an annual, this cool season vegetable traces its ancestry to Brassica oleracea, a fleshy-leaved, short-lived perennial from coastal areas of western and southern Europe. It is grown for its fleshy heads of flower buds, which are harvested and eaten before the flowers open.

Some broccoli varieties produce a large central head with...

(Bok Choy, Broccoli Raab, Chinese Cabbage, Choy Sum, Field Mustard, Pak Choi, Tatsoi, Turnip)

Field mustard, turnip, bok choy, and broccoli raab are part of the complex of different cultivated plants known as Brassica rapa. They have been grown and selected in Eurasia for thousands of years for human consumption and livestock fodder. The origin of Brassica rapa is uncertain but believed center from South and Central Europe. It is now cultivated and naturalized worldwide.

These annual or biennial, cool-season plants typically have loose basal rosettes of broad fleshy...

(Pak Choi)

Field mustard, turnip, bok choy, and broccoli raab are part of the complex of different cultivated plants known as Brassica rapa. They have been grown and selected in Eurasia for thousands of years for human consumption and livestock fodder. The origin of Brassica rapa is uncertain but believed center from South and Central Europe. It is now cultivated and naturalized worldwide.

These annual or biennial, cool-season plants typically have loose basal rosettes of broad fleshy...

(Turnip)

The delicious, sweet, mild turnips of 'Hakurei' are small, pure white and round but slightly flattened. Japanese in origin, this cultivar is very fast-growing, being ready to harvest as early as 35 to 38 days from sowing. This is a turnip for non-turnip lovers to try because its roots are so mild and sweet. The dark green tops also taste delicious cooked or eaten raw in salads.

Some classify turnips in the Rapifera group. Turnip varieties come in many shapes and sizes. The larger the root,...

(Little Jade Napa Cabbage, Napa Cabbage)

Vigorous and disease resistant, 'Little Jade' produces dense, vase-shaped, leafy "baby" Napa cabbage heads. Cabbages are ready to harvest around 60 days from planting. The leaves and stalks are crunchy and sweet and can be eaten fresh or in stir-fry.

Bearing dark to pale green leaves with prominent white midveins, brassicas in the Pekinensis group include the vegetables Napa cabbage, bok choy and celery cabbage. It is one of several groups in Brassica rapa, which is Eurasian in origin...