The students have returned to school , your postbox is crammed with a new crop of seed catalog , the leave-taking are falling , and the days are getting shorter . Drive by your local garden center or roadside stand and the displays are filled with ornamental kales and cabbages . Autumn has go far .
Long after the first snowfall and frost have rub out most shadow of spirit in your garden , ornamental dough and Brassica oleracea glow brilliantly in beds and container . Both are member of the Brassica family , which also includes Brassica oleracea italica , turnip , mustard , and cauliflower .
These biyearly crop are grown as annuals , and occur in a beautiful reach of colors and leaf anatomy . florescence boodle has full , unconditional , leave , while the leaf of kale are curly and frilly around the edges . The plant get along in shades of white , greenish , pinkish , red coral , violet , and red , and they often grow about a metrical foot wide and 15 in improbable . Their colour , which are concentrated in the nitty-gritty of the plant , intensify as the temperatures get lower , a characteristic love by gardeners .
Ornamental wampum and kale look beautiful in the front of a margin or mixed together in window boxes and container . Combine them with chrysanthemum , sedum , ornamental grasses , and asters for a beautiful gloam scene . Their shallow solution system make it easy to transplant them from the garden to the indoors .
come in them in eight- or ten - inch pots in bright luminousness and a cool fix for a long - hold up display . You also can use them in flower arrangements . For a quick and easy tabletop organization , rest a flora – roots and all – in an unintelligible shallow vase . To keep the plants thriving , dispatch their miserable leaves as they start to pass .
Ornamental dough and dough are in general plant in late summertime , since they are more prostrate to pest harm in warmer months . Although very unfearing , they require plentiful , constitutional grease , full sun , and even tearing . The plants should be space close to 12 to 14 inches apart and fertilize once every three weeks with an all - intent fertilizer . Mulching helps to keep the lower leaves from coming in striking with the soil . The source can be implant outside in early summer .
Cabbageworms , aphids , and flea mallet prey upon moolah and cabbage . Growing them in the cool calendar month train forethought of this trouble , but you may compensate them with be adrift row covering fire to keep the bugs from reaching them .
Many people cook and eat kale , which contains genus Beta - carotene , calcium , and vitamin C. The leaves can be blanch , steamer , or invoke fry , or added to soup . But avoid eating the roots of the plant , which are harmful .
To store the foliage after pick them , wash them in cold urine , pat them dry , and enfold them in newspaper towels . Place them in a plastic old bag in the icebox and they will last up to a week ( after that , the leaves start to wilt and the spirit grows harsh ) . And if you ’re appear for a pretty way to perk up your Thanksgiving board , just pop out to the garden and pick a few folio to dress a platter .
ORNAMENTAL BRASSICA : MORE THAN JUST CABBAGES
By Diana LawrenceExtension Master GardenerUniversity of Vermont
