Edible Peace Patch Featured Plant No 4: Broccoli!

Welcome to the third posting in a series called the

Edible Peace Patch Featured Plant 

Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea)

Identification:  Found in many of our schoolyard gardens, broccoli is an edible plant in the cabbage family, whose large flowering head is used as a vegetable. Broccoli has large, dark green flower heads that are arranged in a tree-like structure on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stem. A mature plant grows to be about 24-30 inches tall and bears about 4-10 inches of flower head. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leathery leaves, which are also edible!

Growing Conditions:  Broccoli is a cool-season crop and can germinate in soil with temperatures as low as 40ºF. It requires full sun as well as fertile, moist, and slightly acidic soil in order to flourish. The mostly sandy, basic soil found here in Pinellas County means that composting and adding organic material to the soil is essential for growing broccoli.  It is also important to provide consistent soil moisture with regular watering.  Plant them 1 or 2 feet apart, 1/8 inch deep in early spring, late summer, or early fall.

History: Native to the Medditeranean, broccoli was cultivated in Italy in ancient Roman times and was then introduced to England in the early 1700’s and then to America in colonial times.  However, it wasn’t until the past century that broccoli gained popularity in the United States.

What’s so special?

1. The stem, flower, and leaves are all edible.

2. Broccoli has a very low calorie level, providing just 34 calories per 100 g.

3. Fresh Broccoli is a storehouse of many phyto-nutrients such as thiocyanates, indoles, sulforaphane, isothiocyanates and flavonoids like beta-carotene cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zea-xanthin. Studies have shown that these compounds by modifying positive signaling at molecular receptor levels help protect from prostate, colon, urinary bladder, pancreatic, and breast cancers.

4. Broccoli is a good source of minerals like calcium, manganese, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, and phosphorus.

5. Broccoli contains large amounts of the anti-oxidant vitamin, vitamin-A. About 100 g of broccoli provides 21% of recommended daily levels. Vitamin A also helps maintain integrity of skin and mucus membranes and is essential for healthy eyesight. 

6. There is an enzyme in broccoli called myrosinase which can reduce the risk of developing cancer. The enzyme works by changing sulfur-based chemicals found in broccoli (called glucosinolates) into isothiocyanates (other sulfur-containing chemicals), which have anticancer properties.

Personal Note:
Though cooked broccoli is extra delicious, try just lightly steaming the broccoli to fully benefit from all its vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Like many other vegetables, over-cooking broccoli is said to decrease the health benefits of this plant. 

Stay tuned for the next Edible Peace Patch Featured Plant!