Brassica oleracea alboglabra
| Brassica oleracea | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Brassica oleracea alboglabra (common name: chinese kale)
Propagation: Seed - sow in succession from late spring to late summer or even early autumn in favoured areas[1]. The heaviest yields are from the mid to late summer sowings[1]. Early sowings may bolt if there is a period of cold weather[1].
Cuttings of lateral shoots root easily and can be used to produce more plants[2].
Cultivation: An easily grown plant[1], it succeeds in full sun in a well-drained but moisture-retentive fertile preferably alkaline soil[3][2][1]. Prefers a heavy soil[3]. Plants prefer a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5[2]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil[4].
Plants tolerate several degrees of frost once they are past the seedling stage[1]. They also tolerate higher summer temperatures than most members of this genus[1].
Closely related to broccoli (B. oleracea italica), this species is often cultivated in the Orient for its edible leaves and flowering stems[1][5]. There are several named forms[1]. A perennial plant, it is usually cultivated as an annual [2]. It is fairly slow-growing, but it provides a crop over a long period in the summer and autumn[1]. In a suitable climate they can crop for a period of six months[5]. Most cultivars have been developed in the warmer parts of China and are best suited to warmer conditions than usually occur in Britain, though some forms have been developed that are more suitable for cooler conditions[2].
Plants can be transplanted, if moved under cover in the autumn they will continue to grow slowly and provide a crop all winter[1].
Range: A cultivated form of B. oleracea.
Habitat: Not known in the wild, it probably originated in the Mediterranean and is very close to B. oleracea costata, the Couve tronchuda[1].
Edibility: Young flowering shoots and small leaves- raw or cooked[6][3][7]. Delicious if used when fairly young though they can become tough with age[1]. Older stems should be peeled[1]. All parts of the growing plant are used, including the developing inflorescence[2]. Plants take about 3 months from sowing to their first harvest[2]. Either the whole plant can be harvested, or, if a further harvest is required, just the terminal shoot is harvested which encourages the development of lateral shoots[2]. Yields of 2 kg per square metre can be obtained[2].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Larkcom, Joy. Oriental Vegetables. John Murray, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Simons, Arthur. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin, 1977.
- ↑ Thompson, Robert. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son, 1878.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Vegetables. Macmillan Reference Books, 1995.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.