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Brassicaceae FAMILY

Brassica oleracea costata

Brassica oleracea costata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial
Growth—

Couve tronchuda has been developed in cultivation in the temperate zone. It is fairly hardy, tolerating short-lived temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[1]. Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[2, 1]. Prefers a heavy soil[2]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil, but is best when grown in a rich soil[3]. Couve tronchuda is a non-hearting form of cabbage with large green leaves and prominent white midribs that are available to eat mainly in the autumn[1]. The plant is transitional between the hearting cabbages and the kales[1]. One report suggests that it might be resistant to club root[3]. A good bee plant[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a seedbed outdoors in mid spring. Plant out as space permits in summer. Do not let the seedlings get overcrowded or they will soon become leggy and will not make such good plants. If your seedlings do get leggy, it is possible to plant them rather deeper into the soil - the buried stems will soon form roots and the plant will be better supported. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brassica+oleracea+costata>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  3. [3]Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1960 · ISBN - ↩︎Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
  4. [4]Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. — International Bee Research Association. · International Bee Research Association. · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎The title says it all.
  5. [5]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  6. [6]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  7. [7]Vegetables — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Macmillan Reference Books, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0 333 62640 0 ↩︎Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.
  8. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎