Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
M
any of us remember the fuss when Presi crop. Plants bolt in hot temperatures, so plant
dent George H. W. Bush admitted to a in shade if possible or plant for a fall crop.
dislike of broccoli, which only goes to prove I’m a great fan of broccoli’s tiny family
that our understanding of what’s important in members, spring raab and broccolini (a cross
politics is possibly flawed. I must admit, how between broccoli and kai lan, Chinese broc
ever, that my wife, Treena, is on his side, taking coli), which have very thin stalks and equally
(for about the first time) a contrary point of small flowering heads. Everything is edible, re
view to my preference. quiring only 2–4 minutes of steaming time.
This remarkable plant is an early example They have little of the familiar sulfurous aroma
of human intervention. According to several and are wonderfully nutritious—well worth
sources, the ancient Romans tinkered with a the effort to grow, especially as these varieties
local wild cabbage, native to the eastern coast are somewhat pricey to buy at the supermarket.
line of Italy, and came up with the plant we
know today.
Yo u ’ l l find that broccoli seeds are described
as early, midseason, and late. It’s a good idea to The Numbers
do two plantings by starting indoors from seed The sulforaphame, a key anticancer ingredient, is
some 8 weeks before the last frost and then 30–50 times stronger in spring raab than in broccoli.
transplanting them to flats 2 inches apart when Both plants also have the other well-proven cancer
5 inches tall (about 5 weeks from seed). Th en fi ghter, indole-3-carbinol.
gradually harden them off outside for a week or For each 100 g cooked (3.5 oz ; ½ cup): 35 calories, 0
so before you put them in the raised beds. Re g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein,
peat the process in late summer for a winter 3 g dietary fiber, 41 mg sodium
92 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE
