Researcher sees cabbages and kings

| Written by Kathleen Burge

In rows of broccoli lined up like cadets, in clusters of cauliflower hiding their snowy heads within shrouds of leaves, in thick stalks of bok choy, and in delicate sprays of arugula -- all relatives of the humble cabbage -- Cavanagh sees hope for struggling farmers. Cavanagh is a researcher on UMass Extension's Vegetable Team, and he is championing a scheme to entice the state's farmers to grow more crops from the cabbage family, hearty vegetables that thrive in New England's chilly weather.

Cavanagh and other scientists believe the vegetables can swell profits for farmers by extending the region's notoriously short growing season. If the two-year program succeeds, full plates of vitamin-heavy cauliflower, bok choy, and mustard greens could make their way into the mouths of Massachusetts residents.

The trick, some cabbage enthusiasts acknowledge, would be to make people crave vegetables from the group scientists know as brassicas, long adored by nutritionists but considered dirty words by generations of children.

"I don't know that brassicas were picked because of their popularity as much as the idea that that's about all you can grow in the wintertime," said Richard Bonanno, a Vegetable Team member who grows kale and collards at Pleasant Valley Gardens in Methuen. "I think it's brassicas by necessity."

Cavanagh has identified one possible market for some members of the cabbage family: new immigrants from Asia, who flock to neighborhood stores and farmers' markets looking for brassicas, which they use in their favorite recipes from home.

This time of year, they often buy brassicas grown in Mexico and Central America, said Frank Mangan, a professor of plant, soil, and insect sciences at UMass-Amherst, who has spent years researching the cultivation and marketing of vegetables eaten primarily by various ethnic groups.

"A strong trend in the produce market is the immigrant market," he said. "Immigrants are more likely to buy fresh, to make things from scratch. They don't go out to eat as much."

Researchers say the state's 6,100 farms could tap into those markets by selling their fresher, locally grown vegetables.

Wan Wu, manager of Kam Man Food in Quincy, agreed. He said he would like to buy more often from local farmers because the produce is fresher and often cheaper.

"A lot of the time, the farmer will directly be doing the selling," Wan said. "They will come to us without the middleman, without the shipping costs."

Another group that could benefit is low-income women and children. Those who qualify for federal food assistance receive coupons exchangeable for fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets.

In addition, researchers are exploring ways to sell locally grown produce to schools.

Farmers, too, see hope in the new program.

"The brassica family is a lot of the vegetables that Asian families eat," said David DeWitt, manager of the Allandale Farm in Brookline. "Maybe by supplying it locally, we can get into some of these markets, which have been difficult to get into."

The farm sells its produce at its own stand and to restaurants in the Boston area, including Upstairs on the Square, The Fireplace, and La Morra.

Mangan said another issue that cabbage-related vegetables might address is the high cost of growing vegetables, as compared with the relatively cheap produce coming from Mexico and Central America. He said growers would have to research neighborhood demand for the vegetables they plan to sell.

"If a farmer's going to sell to a market in Dorchester, they would want to make sure they put an emphasis on crops that are popular with the Vietnamese," Mangan said. "If they're selling in Chinatown or Quincy, they probably want to put an emphasis on crops that are popular with the Chinese."

Mainstream supermarkets are another possible niche for locally grown brassicas, Cavanagh said. He said the stores sell certain brassicas, such as mustard greens, as part of increasingly popular fancy salad mixes.

New England's heavy frosts in early fall kill many vegetables, blackening tomatoes and peppers. But many brassicas can survive temperatures dipping as low as the 20s. Some seem to thrive in cool weather.

"People say the flavor in a lot of these crops is better when the temperature is colder," Bonanno said.

If the extension program succeeds, more fields in the state will be bursting with Brussels sprouts and broccoli. But Bonanno wonders whether Massachusetts' masses will ever come around to kale.

"Most people don't eat kale," he said. "You eat kale because your parents ate kale."

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