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Questions tagged [brassicas]

Plants in the 'cabbage' family, a genus of mustard.

Brassicas are a genus in the Brassicaceae (mustard) family of plants. They are sometimes collectively known as s or mustards.

The Brassica family contain more important agricultural crops than any other genus, including: cabbage, kale, , , rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, mustard, and oil seed rape (canola).

Use this tag for questions which involve or may involve multiple members of the family. Use specific plant tags for questions specific to a particular plant.

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Crop rotation theory v. practice

Every guide to growing vegetables will have an early section on rotating roots, brassicas and legumes. There might even be a little diagram with neat evenly spaced and sized areas marked out for each group. It always sounds so simple in theory. But…
Tea Drinker
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Do brassicas like to be transplanted deeper than the previous pot?

I know that tomatoes should be transplanted deeper than they were in the previous pot. When I'm potting up broccoli and cabbage, are they the same way? Can I bury part of the stem when I go from a 6-pack to a pot, or from a pot to the garden? (I'm…
bstpierre
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How should mustard seeds be collected?

This is probably a simple question but I just want to know any common advice for collecting seeds from mustard greens. 4-5 self-seeded mustards (Brassica juncea) popped up in the autumn and I just let them go to be green manure, but I've neglected…
Lisa
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What is the best time and method for planting cauliflowers / broccoli in a southern US climate with frosts?

Inspired by the various brassicas questions, I was thinking of trying to grow some. Choosing something that I would eat, I'm thinking of either broccoli and/or cauliflower. From what I have been able to read about growing them in a N.Texas climate,…
winwaed
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Does it matter if my cabbage forms its heart some way off the ground?

My cabbages have been growing strongly, but until recently mostly big loose leaves, not hearts. Now they're beginning to heart up, but some way up the stalk and off the ground (about 12-15cm up the stalk, possibly more [photo probably shows the…
Tea Drinker
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How dangerous are the roots of brassicas (cabbage, broccoli etc)?

I've read that putting the roots of brassicas in the compost is a bad idea because of the risk of disease. I've also read that you shouldn't even plant them in the same spot for three years! What can you do to mitigate the danger and how dangerous…
Peter Turner
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My broccoli has started to head up. Anything I should know?

First time broccoli planter. A couple of my plants have just started to form heads, is there anything special I need to do? How do I know when its ready? Also, what is the proper way to harvest broccoli when it is ready? Finally I have read here…
wax eagle
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How to protect broccoli seedlings from high winds?

I am experimenting this autumn with more autumn/winter vegetables than I am used to. I have cabbages and leeks near maturity which will be the main events, but I've also put in some August sown purple sprouting broccoli. Not sure if it'll work, but…
Tea Drinker
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Why are the tops of my Brussels Sprouts turning purple?

What does it mean when the tops of the Brussels Sprouts start to turn purple?
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When do cabbage moths lay their eggs?

I just transplanted my kale starts and I'm going to put my cabbage & broccoli plants in next. Last year we had some significant damage & developmental delays from cabbage moth caterpillars and I want to avoid that this year. From what I've been…
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When should I start worrying about holes and leaf damage in my brassicas?

Brassicas are notoriously hard to protect and we have all seen cabbage and broccoli leaves stripped down to a sort of skeleton as a result of pests. But netting goes a long way to solving the problem. I have some fundamentally healthy looking…
Tea Drinker
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Are new caterpillar eggs added daily to a brassica that's already under attack?

I've got a few broccoli plants which are under attack from caterpillars. They aren't currently netted. I manually "weeded" all the caterpillars off the most distressed plant (and some of the other plants nearby) and figured that as long as I…
Tea Drinker
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Brassicas seed saving

I plan on growing a few different brassicas such as cabbages and bok choy, and I'd like to collect seeds from these open pollinated varieties so that I don't have to keep buying seeds. How do I prevent cross pollination occurring between different…
Graham Chiu
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Should I cut off the stems of my bolting pak choi?

My whole pak choi spring harvest is bolting right now (I sowed in a green house very early to get a second one in if need be). However I read that with pak choi when the plant is bolting it usually does not turn as bitter as other plants. I also…
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Do white butterfly decoys work against Pieris rapae?

I've seen various articles/posts to say that decoy artificial white butterflies, such as the one I just made, are effective in preventing attack of brassicas by the white butterfly Pieris rapae. The thesis is that the insect is highly territorial…
Graham Chiu
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