Vegetable Identification

[pauldd100]

Hi,

I bought and planted some pepper seeds a few months back, which are growing nicely. It seems however that there must have been a stray seed in one of the packs as this fellow has appeared. Images attached.

Does anyone has any idea what it is?

[JayPoc]

Definitely a brassica. Probably collards.

[imafan26]

Collards, Kale, or maybe even broccoli. The Georgia collards I grew had big round leaves .

[rainbowgardener]

Pretty sure it is not broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower, which I grow a lot of, but I agree some kind of brassica.

[GardeningCook]

Another vote for a brassica of some type. Regardless of type, leaves are edible.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, even the broccoli leaves, which people don't usually eat, are quite edible.

[kayjay]

The leaves look like my kohlrabi (a brassica.) There's usually a bulb at the base, but they don't always bulb properly.

[Taiji]

It's quite a coincidence that this came up; I was just going to post a question as to whether broccoli leaves were edible or not. As usual, I planted my broccoli in spring so that they would mature in the blazing 90 degree plus heat of summer! Never seem to learn!

Anyway, the result is a huge plant of broccoli leaves, and a tiny little hint of a head, which I can see is going to bloom in a couple of days. I was thinking I could maybe harvest some of the newer leaves and it wouldn't be a total loss! Guess I can cook them like cabbage if I want?

BTW, I'm voting for broccoli on the unknown plant, guess time will tell!?

[rainbowgardener]

Yup, that's what happens when it gets hot. The broccoli makes a tiny head, which opens up into flowers right away.

I start my broccoli seed indoors about mid-January. Then it is transplanted into the garden mid-March, which for me is about a month earlier than my average last frost date. That means that it does go through some frost/ snow etc, but once hardened off, it is very cold hardy and frost tolerant. It does much better with cold weather than warm.

Where you are, you might need to start it even earlier! Or plant broccoli seed in early Sept, for fall harvest.

But yes, broccoli is very closely related to cabbage. When they are little seedlings they are hard to tell apart. Any way you might use cabbage leaves, you can use broccoli leaves. And your very leafy plant can clearly spare a few!

[Taiji]

Now, if I could just come up with some smart marketing ploy to convince people how much more desirable broccoli leaves are than those boring old broccoli heads, I'd make millions!

[kayjay]

Wait, broccoli leaves are edible? MIND BLOWN

[GardeningCook]

Yes (as are cauliflower leaves, kohlrabi leaves, etc., etc.). I've never cooked the leaves as a vegetable on their own, but always toss any spare leaves (minus any tough ribs) in with the head of whatever I'm cooking.

[kayjay]

Wow, that's great to know! Funny, all the reading/browsing I've done, I've never come across that factoid before. I knew turnip and kohlrabi greens were edible, but I somehow thought broccoli and cauliflower weren't... or were maybe just not palatable.

That's a game-changer for me. I'm in a tiny space and I'm trying to maximize the amount of food I can get in the smallest amount of space. I had written off broccoli and cauliflower, but maybe I'll try that this fall, since even if they don't flower properly, I'll have greens.

[GardeningCook]

As with most greens, the smaller/tenderer the better. While larger leaves ARE edible, if you plan to use them you do need to remove the ribs & may also want to slice or chop them.