If you are not already aware, let me be the first to alert you to a severe cauliflower shortage in North America and presumably around the world. Really. I am not making this up. The weather is the primary culprit, but their scarcity is also linked to this vegetable's ever-increasing popularity. How cauliflower, of all foods, became the hit in everything from Paleo and low-carb diets to being the toast of the American Cancer Society, I will never know.
Since everything from cauliflower soup to cauliflower pizza crust has become popular, this is a serious shortage. All across the land, folks were unable have cauliflower topped with melted cheese for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. If you can find it, costs are approaching $8 per pound or more in the Lower 48.
As luck would have it, cauliflower does exceptionally well in our cool, short-season summers. Really, really well, as in plant it, and it grows like crazy. Hello Alaska! At $8 a pound we might finally have a resource that can replace our dwindling oil supply.
If it were not for the distance to big enough markets, there is no question a lot of brassica crops -- rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, broccoli, collard greens, mustards as well as cauliflower (with apologies for leaving the odd brassica out) -- would be great Alaska export products.
Many of this year's previous columns list catalogs that have terrific offerings of brassica. Take Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.'s cauliflower offerings. I know everyone else carries a Purple of Sicily, but I saw theirs this summer and it is really, really purple. (I wish I could have tasted it.) I wrote about Baker Creek last week. Get their magazine and check out their website for their offerings. Amazing stuff.
Next, I haven't mentioned Victory Seeds this year. They only sell open-pollinated and heirloom seeds. As for the cauliflowers, look at the self-blanching varieties. They require the least amount of care when it comes to getting nice, white heads. I love sprouting broccoli, which they have, for stir-fry dishes. I am not fond of kohlrabi, but they have four nice ones, I think.
Annie's Heirloom Seeds has some really neat broccoli. They have a whole bunch of cabbages ranging from green to Savoy and Chinese. I am not sure why they don't have pictures for every offering. This is a drawback, but forces you to do a bit of reading. People spend a lot of time on seed catalog descriptions.
Next comes Terroir Seeds. Nothing fancy here, but good, solid performers. Heirlooms being what they are, even the standard fare is different. I am liking the looks of Vates Blue Curled kale. This is a great information catalog with a newsletter you can sign up for.
Seeds From Italy distributes Franchi Seeds, the oldest family-owned seed company in Italy. They carry a tremendous variety of broccoli seeds, almost too many. How do you choose? Other webalogs to check out include Peaceful Valley Seeds, which comes with a recommendation from a loyal reader (thanks); Evergreen Seeds, which features Asian brassica seed; and Reimer Seeds, which is simply an amazing site with more than 5,000 vegetable varieties and which deserves its own paragraph.
And in case you need a bit more information about heirlooms (and we all do), be sure to check out Mother Earth News' article "Heirloom Cabbage Varieties and Other Members of the Brassica Family." This piece contains great information about the history of brassica heirlooms. It also has a list of the most commonly grown ones. I found it well worth the time -- and even printing out.
Finally, in case I haven't driven the point home over the years, our local Alaska nurseries are the best in the world. Period. They all carry a really great selection of seed that is open-pollinated and does great here because each variety has been tested and the duds culled. And, of course, there is The Denali Seed Company, distributed by a locally owned company. These are available from local seed racks and from their online store at bestcoolseeds.com. When it comes to brassicas that do well in Alaska, this is the place to start.
Jeffs Alaska Garden Calendar
Sweet peas: Get yours going if you have the room and ability to keep them in good shape until April. This requires lights to do it right. Nick each seed's coating. Soak seed. Roll in a nitrogen fixing bacteria inoculant and plant. Provide light. Keep cool. Pinch back every few weeks to encourage branching.
Celery: Too early to plant, but if you are going to do so, you will need to start from seed 10 to 12 weeks before May 15 or so. That means it is time to buy seeds. These are slow germinators and slow growers, and they need light. However, there is nothing that tastes better home-grown than store-bought than celery, IMHO.
Christmas tree recycling: Alpar's program is over. Do not get caught on video as you drop off a tree.
Jeff Lowenfels has been writing this column for 40 years and never missed a week. He is the author of the best-selling, award-winning books "Teaming with Microbes" and "Teaming With Nutrients."