The monsoon rains do not seem to be going away, but it is time to begin planning for the winter vegetables because we have a very short winter in Goa. We have to make do with it although it is not even as cold as Europe in spring time.
The Brassica genus in this family contains cabbage, broccoli, knol khol, turnip, pak choi, rape seed and mustards of all kinds. They all have some common practices like raising seedlings and transplanting them at a regular spacing because the seeds are small and not all of them germinate.
Brassica oleracea, commonly known as the colewort, is the mother of the botanical varieties capitata, botrytis and italica that we know as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. All three originated in the European side of the Mediterranean Sea that now has a war raging on for more than a year on its Asian coast.
The easiest one to grow is knol khol (B. oleracea var gongylodes) and the fussiest one is broccoli (B. oleracea var italica).
Seedlings were made available at nominal prices to farmers and garden enthusiasts by my friendly neighbourhood zonal agriculture officer, Sampatti Dhargalkar, during the last few years.
This year, there are no seedlings yet, but cabbage seeds of the Saint variety are sold at a subsidised price of Rs 158 per ten grams packet at zonal agriculture offices (ZAOs) across Goa.
Agriculture consultant and agripreneur, Liza Pinheiro, already has seeds on sale at her new outlet at Sancoale.
Now is the time to buy seeds and raise seedlings. It is best to protect the seeds and seedlings from sudden heavy showers of rain.
Now is the time to buy seeds and raise seedlings. It is best to protect the seeds and seedlings from sudden heavy showers of rain.
Normally, the best time to transplant cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli seedlings is by mid-November. The extended monsoon rains have made this year far from normal. It takes three weeks to a month to raise seedlings to the four to six leaves stage for transplanting.
Cabbage is a peculiar vegetable. Once the seedling has attained nine leaves, if the temperature is cool enough, it will behave like a school student snuggling under a blanket and refusing to wake up at sunrise!
It is called ‘bolting’ when cabbage leaves stop opening up, and the apex bud grows within to make the ‘ball’ of the cabbage. It becomes firmer as it reaches the harvesting stage.
It is called ‘bolting’ when cabbage leaves stop opening up, and the apex bud grows within to make the ‘ball’ of the cabbage. It becomes firmer as it reaches the harvesting stage.
In the case of cauliflower and broccoli, the cold triggers ‘curd’ formation or flower initiation. If it misses the cold spell, then one can feed the leaves to rabbits, poultry or cattle: there will be no broccoli or cauliflower.
Knol khol crop is of a shorter duration and can be transplanted right up to the end of January. The seedlings of knol khol are also available at the Friday market in Mapusa in early December. The knol khol seedlings are transplanted when they attain four to six leaves in about three to four weeks from sowing.
Plan your vegetable garden now and you can participate in the Botanical Society of Goa’s 32nd annual ‘Home Garden Competition’ which focuses on organic vegetable cultivation, composting, mulching and recycling of grey water.
The home gardens will be judged in January or February, 2025, depending on the whether the weather allows vegetables to grow.
(The author is the former Chairman of the GCCI Agriculture Committee, CEO of Planter's Choice Pvt Ltd, Additional Director of OFAI and Garden Superintendent of Goa University, and has edited 18 books for Goa & Konkan)