There is this particular Brassica that is commonly planted in vegetable and medicinal herb section of quite a few community gardens that I have visited. Many of the plants I have seen are quite scrawny and small which appear like the Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra). From a past observation in my community garden, this particular Brassica does have the potential to grow become quite big where each leaf can grow into a size that is much larger than a man’s palm! I reckon the enormous size that these brassicas grew into was due the generous amounts of fertiliser that were applied.
This particular Brassica is often called the “headless cabbage” by local Chinese (无头菜) and are believed to possess medicinal properties. Many gardeners who grow it adopted the ‘pick and come again’ approach where they harvest the lower leaves for food which are prepared by stir-frying them like typical Chinese brassicas. With time, a clear stem below appears which makes the plant look like a ‘sproutless’ Brussels sprouts plant. When young, the plant tends to look like a cabbage plant that has yet to form a head. Notably, the leaves of this Brassica have a bluish-grey tinge and come with much powdery wax on it.
Till today, no one really knows the exact identity of this Brassica. It is probably one of the diverse cultigens developed from wild Brassica oleracea. From the descriptions I read about common edible brassicas, the one for the kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) seems most apt due to the bluish leaves usually found on the latter.
This plant likes to be grown under full sun and in very well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. It grows vigorously if given fertiliser regularly. When harvesting, refraining from pulling the leaves off the plant. Any injury to the stem can allow entry of pathogens into plant tissues, which can lead to stem rot and demise of the plant. Use a clean and sharp pair of harvest to help cut the leaves cleanly from the plant. Tall plants would require staking to provide support and prevent plants from toppling over and snapping their stems.
Like other brassicas, this cabbage relative is prone to attack by the cabbage white butterfly caterpillars so it is best to grow it in a netted shelter for protection. I have seen this plant flower and like many other brassicas that do not flower under certain cultivation conditions, it is vegetatively propagated via stem-cuttings which can be taken from the many small shoots that emerge from the base of the plant or lower internodes of the bare stem.
