Meet the Brassica Family

What’s in a name? 

Meet the Brassica-Saurus family

 

Savoy (aka Blistered) Cabbage: From Middle English Caboche meaning "head".

Arugala: Demonstrating a perfect Crucifer shaped Flower (also great on salads)

Radish: from the Latin for Root radix

 

The Brassicaceae family includes many popular vegetables (and some unpopular ones). From Broccoli to Cabbage, Arugala to Bok Choy. Roasted roots, steamed greens, fresh in salads, and frequently fermented, this family is perhaps one of the oldest and more adapted vegetables we consume.

These veggies have a variety of common names including Brassicas, Crucifers, and Cole Crops. Let’s break those names down. To start – Brassica is a relatively new term that was Latin-icized from the Celtic word for cabbage -  “bresic”.

Well then, who the heck is Cole? You may have noticed a trend Cole Slaw, Collards, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, and even Kale. These all share the same word root which is derived from the Latin word caulis meaning stem and was later used in German (Kohl). Cole Crops aren’t all Brassicas- only about a dozen of the more European ones are referred to as Cole crops (i.e not bok choy). Interestingly Bro means flower, which makes Broccoli and Cauliflower oddly similar. Cole Slaw may be the most unappetizing salad name out there. Slaw is a crudely anglicized interpretation of the Dutch word for salad. And the name for Cabbage itself is a bit of an outlier having been derived from the Middle English word for head - “caboche”.

The Brassica family gets it’s Crucifer name from the shape of its flower. Ever noticed that Broccoli flowers look a lot like Canola? Turns out Brassicas have a Crucifer (Cross) shaped flower (usually yellow or white).  You’ve probably seen some of these crops flower, such as Canola and Arugala but may not have witnessed Kale of Cabbage flowers. Some Brassicas, like many other vegetables, are Biennial. That means they produce flowers and seeds in their second year (similar to Carrots). Kale flowers are delicious if you can find them.

Speaking of Canola, that ubiquitous Prairie crop, is indeed a Brassica. The name CANOLA is actually a modern creation from CANada Oil Low Acid (or perhaps Ola meaning oil). It had the misfortune of being known as Rape Seed. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds since it was from the old Latin word for turnip - rapa. Just like Rappini.  

The Brassica family is huge, diverse, and quite incestuous – both in genetics and names. Their popularity among many cultures has lead to a slew of names which English has adopted haphazardly. Genetically there are three dominant Species in the family with a complicated history. Some were originally from Europe and others from East Asia and then people started playing with. Not even all the Cabbages are from the same Species (Napa versus Red Cabbage). 

One more thing. I have no idea what is going on with this family name in French. Someone please help me. What does "Chou" mean? Chou fleur, Chor frisee, Choux de Brusselles, Chou croute.

Finally here’s an incomplete list of Brassicas. Might not have realized you were eating brassicas for dinner! Which one is your favourite? 

In no particular order:

Broccoli, Rapini, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage, Napa Cabbage

Brussel Sprouts, Kale, Collards, Kohlrabi

Arugala, Watercress

Tatsoi, Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Bok Choy

Turnip, Rutabega, Radish

 Daikon, Horseradish, Wasabi, Mustard Seed, Canola

And more…

Brocoli: A Flowering Stalk.

Growing Kale at Bread and Butter Farm for Winter Harvest

The plant with many names: Black Kale, Lacinato, Tuscan Kale, Dinosaur Kale.

Captain Andrew Kale at Halloween

Alien shaped Kohlrabi (this one is purdy ugly).

Discussing Rutabegas at the FTP farm with Laura

"Oh boy, can't wait to get me some Brussel Sprouts."

Brussel Sprouts: They came from the Low Countries and we all love 'em!

"What does FARM mean?"

Time to get word nerdy. Farm – it’s a hot word these days. But what does it mean? I'm not talking about whether it's a verb, noun, or adjective - it's all of those. 

When we brush aside the quaint image of the homestead farm, we get to a more complicated truth about farming and who controls the land. What’s hidden in the very root of the word is the troubling historical context that is still very much an issue today.

What got me thinking about the word farm was noticing a farm name, in French, painted on a silo in Quebec. The French word for farm is ‘ferme’. Pretty eh? Funny enough “ferme” has other meanings including -“firm, hard, constant, fixed, solid, or definite.”  Ok now, keep in mind that I'm not an etymologist, just curious.

Ferme

My amateur research led me to the Old English and Medieval Latin roots of the word. It looks like the meaning evolved during the period of Feudalism between 9th and 15th centuries. This was a time when a Lords controlled much of Europe and leased land to peasant farmers in order to generate revenue for their castles and armies. 

The word “ferme” came from the Medieval Latin “firma” and referred to fixed contracts in which peasants worked the land for a “fixed payment, rent, or lease”.  Sometimes land was inherited, other times, the contract terminated at death. So the farmers didn't actually own their land. Think of it as a mortgage to land you’d never own. And secondly the fees/taxes were fixed, rather than being a form of percent income tax as we know it today. Through good years and bad, regardless of your harvest, they had to pay up. It was not an easy arrangement for farmers.There's a hilarious Monty Python Skit from the Quest for the Holy Grail. Check it out!

As far away as we are from the dark days of Medieval Europe, I wonder if we’ve completely left behind this original concept of “farm”.  I find it interesting how an activity such as farming can go through so many centuries of changes and yet still struggle around the most basic of needs – land.  

 Indebted

What I've been hearing over and over again are that farmers today are often up to their eyeballs in debt. Between mortgages, leased equipment, and loans for buildings; there're lots of ways to accumulate debt. International trade and consolidation have driven down food prices driving a mad scramble for farms to get bigger or get out. The hope is that increased production will offset increased costs and make up for the increasingly tight market. It happens at many scales of farming but particularly has hit mid-sized family farms the hardest over the past 30-40 years. 

And although many farmers do hold the deed to their property, if crops falter for too many seasons, they might just lose it to the bank. Exit becomes very challenging to heavily indebted farms. Do you sell out to your (in-debted) neighbour and move into town? If your children are actually interested in farming, they might try to take it on – if they somehow afford to buy you out. Debt gets transferred on with the farm. I wonder where does the debt stop? And if farmers must perpetually live in debt, then who really controls the land?

Ok, now I've got a couple examples to get your head out of the gloom that is industrial-commodity farming. Let's look at a couple alternative ways that farmers are accessing land.

Land Trusts 

 

In Vermont I saw many great examples Land Trusts allowing farmers to get on the land. The Vermont Land Trust buys the development rights to the land, preventing it from being sold for housing developments or mines for example. Funds are raised through donations from citizens, towns, the State, and other groups that want to see farmland used for farming. In simple terms, this allows individuals or groups to purchase properties at the price significantly lower than the market value. The landowner still has the option to sell the property and will get what they paid for it plus improvements (up to an certain amount).

Both Wellspring Farm, near Montpelier, and Bread and Butter Farm near Burlington, are excellent examples of Land Trusts working for private farms. The Land Trust as lowered the cost of entry substantially and as a result is conserving pristine countryside and allowing local food production. Awesome farms - check them out.

Wellspring Farm

Bread and Butter Farm -  Beef, Butter, Winter Greens!

Another great example of Land Trusts at work is at Burlington's Intervale. Thanks to a Land Trust, The Intervale Center has been able to acquire hundreds of acres of prime farm land in Burlington, which it then leases to new and experienced farmers at a low cost. It's been an important incubator of new farms since the 1990's. I got to work on two very different farms at the Intervale - The Invervale Community Farm, a 44 acre, cooperatively owned CSA farm; and Half Pint Farm, a 2-acre privately owned, success story.

Intervale Community Farm

Harvesting Romaine at Half Pint Farm

Land Share 

 

Then there is the SPIN farming model (Small Plot INtensive) that has really raised attention of using borrowed land as a way to keep costs down. It's a neat concept and reminds us that there is plenty of unused land space all around us. I like the idea of using lawns to grow vegetables and in fact this summer that's what we plan to do. 

There are also website's such as Land Share Canada popping around the world. So far there's not a lot of activity on the site but I did get a response back about one yard in Calgary (unfortunately is was washed out in a flood last summer). And then there is the good old fashion way of looking for land by knocking on neighbours doors and putting up posters (both online and on lamp posts). 

On Borrowed Ground CSA in Edmonton or Green City Acres in Kelowna are great examples of the sharing land.

So to wrap this up I don't want to give the impression that I dislike the word 'farm'.  Clearly it's a powerful word and one that we can easily identify with. The organic farms that I mentioned above all use  the word "farm" in their names - even SPIN farming uses it. I just find this word to be an interesting vehicle for reflecting on the tenuous and important relationship that farming has with land. 

The challenge of getting land and keeping it is older than our time. It's precious. Land has often been associated with control - whether that's control over your own life or in the case of a feudal Lord, control over your fiefdom.

Permaculture and Farms in Vinales

Oxen preparing the soil.

Typical Vinales horse cart heading to town from the countryside.

We had our first experience on a permaculture farm in Cuba when we were staying in Vinales. Vinales is reportedly home to some of the world’s best tobacco farms but we were more interested in the fields of black beans, corn, rice, and wheat. The farms cover every inch of the valley floor butting right up against the dramatic jungle topped Mogotes. The town pulsed with farming life. Farmers in cowboy hats and rubber boots pedaled their old single speed bicycles along main street. Horse carts and oxen competed for road space with tractors and tour buses. Somehow despite the huge amount of tourism passing through this quiet valley the locals carry on with their lives.

It was on one of our long wanders through the countryside that we came across La Chiquitica Organic Farm. Miguel Veliz Collazo welcomed us in for a tour of his permaculture gardens and food forests. With Meghan as a translator we learned that he has been teaching and farming for 25 years and that he works with kids and has hosted UBC students. He took us to feed his pigs that lived alongside turkeys and chickens in a forest of banana and citrus. And then with great enthusiasm explained his HuManure composting system! I was bursting with things that I wanted to say but poor Meghan could only translate so fast. Our tour moved on to his herbal compost tea concoction for combating against pests. We left with mouths agape and hands filled with bananas and citrus. In exchange all he wanted was for help share what he does online.

We met anything fascinating farmer while wandering near Vinales. Raul Reyes has an organic farm on the path to the Cueva Vacca at the base of a dramatic jungle covered Mogote Mesa. Which also happens to be an amazing rock climbing crag. Raul was a weathered old man that you could tell was really proud of his farm and what he grew. He had bananas, pineapples, peanuts, wild honey, home roasted coffee, handmade cigars, and fresh squeezed unsweetened juices. His produce was far fresher than what we’d find on the produce carts in town and we’d always come away with a few freebie bananas.

Cows are protected in Cuba. Killing one could land a Cuban 7-12 years in jail! 

Everywhere we went we saw Cubans in clean crisp clothing. I love this photo. The red dirt road, dog, baby clothes, and trimmed grass. 

Miguel the farmer, philosopher, and teacher. I'm holding the fruit he gave us in exchange for sharing his info online. 

Feeding the pigs in the food forest. I like food forests that include animals for meat :)

Noisily chowing down on some soaked banana (grown overhead). A chicken awaits scraps. 

On one of epic country walks near Vinales. Off the tourist path you see the life unfold. Moments later we watched as a frustrated young man tried to drive his oxen down to the water hole and got stuck in a rut. 

Our smiles hide our weariness from hours under the hot sun…lesson learned. Bring two broad brimmed hats!

Finca Raul Reyes market stand. The best place to stop for a juice after a day climbing in the mountains surrounding Raul's fields.

A caballero and his horse.

Farmer Training Program Update

I've got to say that Vermont is different little state. I often compare it to Nelson in BC's Kootenays or Vancouver Island- in both looks and character. The mountains, ski culture, subaru's everywhere, and especially the big dramatic views over the lake remind me of the the Georgia Strait or Slocan Lake. I read that years ago, the Burlington business association tried branding Vermont as "the West Coast of New England"...it didn't catch on.

Vermonter's seem to have a unconventionally "common-sense" attitude about their environment and economy. I'd say that in Vermont, right wing and left wing have wrapped so far around they’ve met in the middle and are carpooling to the farmer’s market.

Vermont has the highest percentage of organic farms by state in the USA and also the highest consumption of organic and local food in the country. So it's a good place to learn about food and farming.

My program has been going really well. I have loved the emphasis on producation, planning, and running a farm businesss. The teachers are solid and the students bring a diversity of past experiences and lots fun to the farm.

A typical week includes three days working on our student farm where we grow 40-50 varieties of vegetables that are sold at a farm stand, through weekly food shares (aka CSA), and wholesale to local grocers and cafeterias. I also spend one day a week working other farms in the area. And each week we have a classroom day with lectures on various farm topics that have included pest and disease management, business planning, crop rotations, soil science and much more. Learning lots from experienced farmers and specialists from the Extension Service (that's UVM's public farm consulting agency, it's fantastic).

 There's such a great diversity on the farm - from harvesting bouquets of flowers to discing fields with a tractor. At times we've taste tested four types of melon in our field, with juice running down our chins, and on some early mornings I've helped milk on a dairy farm. 

Thankfully, food and farming is such a rich, satisfying endeavor - it has to be, otherwise the tiredness and tedium at times would erase all pleasure. 

Fall spinach in its glowing green glory

Discussing the finer points of turnips

Back from the Amaranth harvest