National Garden Bureau Declares the Brassica Family the 2017 Edible of the Year

You may not recognize the family name, Brassica, but you’ve probably enjoyed one of the family members like broccoli, cauliflower, Bok choy, kale, turnip or Brussels sprouts.

The National Garden Bureau has declared the Brassica family the 2017 edible of the year.

These vegetables are not only tasty, but also very nutritious. They provide vitamin C and fiber to our diets and help reduce the risk of various cancers of the digestive tract.

Hard to believe such a diverse group of vegetables belong to the same family. Mutations caused changes in the plant and influenced the parts we eat. Kale and collards develop large leaves while mutations caused cabbage to form heads, arrested flower development in broccoli and cauliflower and resulted in large axillary buds forming along the stems of Brussels sprouts.

A bit more information: Add some color and fun to the garden with one of the novelty cultivars of cauliflower. Brighten the relish tray with purple Graffiti, orange Cheddar and green headed Vitaverde.