lants for their beauty.
Quality or quantity of spring harvest won't drop one bit if the
plants become a little stunted and gnarly in summer, as long as you
fertilize late in September to spur rapid growth during fall and
winter.

Root System Vigor in the Cabbage Family

Wild cabbage is a weed and grows like one, able to successfully
compete for water against grasses and other herbs. Remove all
competition with a hoe, and allow this weed to totally control all
the moisture and nutrients in all the earth its roots can occupy,
and it grows hugely and lushly. Just for fun, I once G-R-E-W one,
with tillage, hoeing, and spring fertilization but no irrigation; it
ended up 5 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter.

As this highly moldable family is inbred and shaped into more and
more exaggerated forms, it weakens and loses the ability to forage.
Kale retains the most wild aggressiveness, Chinese cabbage perhaps
the least. Here, in approximately correct order, is shown the
declining root vigor and general adaptation to moisture stress of
cabbage family vegetables. The table shows the most vigorous at the
top, declining as it goes down.

Adapted to dry gardening Not vigorous enough

Kale Italian broccoli (some varieties)
Brussels sprouts (late types) Cabbage (regular market types)
Late savoy cabbage Brussels sprouts (early types)
Giant "field-type" kohlrabi Small "market-garden" kohlrabi
Mid-season savoy cabbage Cauliflower (regular, annual)
Rutabaga Turnips and radishes
Italian Broccoli (some varieties) Chinese cabbage
Brussels Sprouts

_Sowing date:_ If the plants are a foot tall before the soil starts
drying down, their roots will be over a foot deep; the plants will
then grow hugely with a bit of fertigation. At Elkton I dry garden
Brussels sprouts by sowing late April to early May. Started this
soon, even late-maturing varieties may begin forming sprouts by
September. Though premature bottom sprouts will "blow up" and become
aphid damaged, more, higher-quality sprouts will continue to form
farther up the stalk during autumn and winter.

_Spacing:_ Make each spot about 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Without any added moisture, the plants will become
stunted but will survive all summer. Side-dressing manure or
fertilizer late in September (or sooner if the rains come sooner)
will provoke very ra