The Top Cole Crops To Drive Sales in 2023
Are you looking for unique varieties of cole crops to round out your farm’s produce portfolio? Scroll through the photo gallery above for a bounty of diverse choices.
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Aguera RZ (Rijk Zwaan)
A strong, vigorous plant for winter and short-day stress. This hybrid is uniform and has stable curd quality. The high foot provides necessary air circulation for a clean bottom leaf. It grows well in the autumn, spring, and overwintering regions, and offers a wide harvest window. Matures in 85 to 115 days, depending on the season.
https://www.rijkzwaanusa.com/find-your-variety/cauliflower/aguera-rz
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Blue Vantage (Sakata Seed America | Rupp Seeds)
‘Blue Vantage’ is an early main season hybrid cabbage. It has an excellent appearance and tolerance to disease and excess moisture. Excellent for fresh market or slaw.
Matures in 80 days.Disease package: Xcc, BS, TB, FY
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/cabbage/hybrid/blue-vantage
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Castle Dome (Seminis Vegetable Seeds)
Fresh market broccoli features uniform heads
with tight, small beads. ‘Castle Dome’ displays cold vigor, allowing for later plantings (in early season slots). It has excellent adaptability and holding ability, so growers have the potential for added flexibility. Ideal for the Southwestern United States. An early maturing variety. -
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Moonshine (Enza Zaden)
‘Moonshine’ cauliflower shows off its best plant frame and wrap in the late summer-to-fall harvest window. Great for the coastal regions in CA. This variety has a uniform harvest. Matures in 75 to 80 days.
https://www.enzazaden.com/us/products-and-services/our-products/cauliflower
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Promise (Takii & Company, Ltd. | Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
This hybrid cabbage is fantastic, right out of the field or after long-term storage. It has juicy, tender, sweet leaves. The best flavor in our spring storage cabbage taste tests. Dense heads are held high above the ground, allowing for good air circulation and reduced disease pressure. Heads will average 6½ pounds at 18-inch spacing and 9 to 10 pounds at 24-inch spacing. Well adapted to fall-to-winter season with good uniformity for type. Plant habit supports medium-large head sizing with minimal lodging. Grows well in Canada (Quebec, Ontario), and throughout most of the U.S.
Matures in 96 days from seed and 115 from transplant.Disease package: HR: FY
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Purple Moon (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
A very attractive cauliflower with beautiful medium, dark-purple heads. Our best performing purple variety in warm weather. Also an excellent fall crop, ‘Purple Moon’ is widely adapted with an early mature date of 62 days.
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Red Fire (Osborne Quality Seeds)
‘Red Fire F1’ broccoli has long, clean stems for bunching produced on a large, sturdy plant. Seed in mid-June, transplant in mid-July. It will yield two flushes of harvest starting early March. Long, semi-leaved stems with bright-purple florets have withstood many nights below 20°F. This sprouting variety is easy to bunch or sell as florets.
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Spectre (Seminis Vegetable Seeds | Harris Seeds/ Garden Trends Inc.)
‘Spectre F1’ broccoli has excellent field holding ability and is reliable for crown cut, bunching, and floret processing markets. Plants are well adapted and produce early yields of high dome, blue-green heads with a fine-to-medium bead. The high-quality heads have a mild, sweet flavor, smooth dome, and small leaf scars. Matures in 75 days.
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/13206-broccoli-spectre-f1?variant=39639417454664
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Tri-C5063 (SEEDWAY, LLC)
‘Tri-C5063’ is a heat-tolerant, early cauliflower with a “personal-sized” head. While naturally white, harvest before the wrapper leaves open. The head has a high, round dome and is dense, weighing 2 to 2½ pounds. The head and plant are small, increasing your plant population including planting two rows/bed, 15 inches in-row. If single row, decrease in-row to 12 inches. It is not for the earliest slot since it is best to transplant when daytime temperature is between 60°F to 70°F. It can be harvested from late spring through fall in the north. Matures 62 days from transplant.
https://www.seedway.com/product/tri-c5063-cauliflower-not-treated/
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Swingma RZ (Rijk Zwaan | Gowan Seed Company)
An adaptable white cabbage with waxy-green color. The weight range is 3½ to 9 pounds. An early head filling ensures a versatile fresh market use. ‘Swingma RZ’ features a short core, perfect round shape, and juicy, mild flavor. The plant shows strong vigor and nice wrapper foliage through all growing seasons. Plant densities can be chosen according to market demand. It can be harvested from early to late season, including winter cycle in moderate climates. Matures in 70 to 85 days.
Disease package: HR: Foc (1)
https://www.rijkzwaanusa.com/find-your-variety/cabbage/swingma-rz
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Twister (Sakata Seed America | Stokes Seeds Inc.)
‘Twister’ is a beautiful, bright white with a fabulous spiraling, internal wrap. Heads are tight and heavy. This hybrid is well adapted to most areas and provides a very uniform harvest. It prefers heavy soil. Matures in 75 to 80 days.
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Winner Improved (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
‘Winner Improved’ is a hybrid kohlrabi. It has late pithiness, plates are upright and produce very smooth, semi-globe bulbs weighing around 1 pound (530 grams). It is widely adapted and matures in 57 days.
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Xtreme Vantage (Sakata Seed America | Gowan Seed Company | Stokes Seeds Inc.)
‘Xtreme Vantage’ cabbage shows very good uniformity in the field. It can be used for fresh market or processing. This green hybrid provides a great disease package. Matures in 75 to 80 days.
Disease package: HR: Foc (1), IR: Xcc, T: TB
https://sakatavegetables.com/vegetable/cabbage/cabbage-green/xtreme-vantage/
View all
Aguera RZ (Rijk Zwaan)
Blue Vantage (Sakata Seed America | Rupp Seeds)
Castle Dome (Seminis Vegetable Seeds)
Moonshine (Enza Zaden)
Promise (Takii & Company, Ltd. | Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Purple Moon (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Red Fire (Osborne Quality Seeds)
Spectre (Seminis Vegetable Seeds | Harris Seeds/ Garden Trends Inc.)
Tri-C5063 (SEEDWAY, LLC)
Swingma RZ (Rijk Zwaan | Gowan Seed Company)
Twister (Sakata Seed America | Stokes Seeds Inc.)
Winner Improved (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Xtreme Vantage (Sakata Seed America | Gowan Seed Company | Stokes Seeds Inc.)
Disease Abbreviation Key
DM: Downy mildew
Foc: Fusarium wilt
HR: High resistance
IR: Intermediate resistance
TpB: Tipburn
YR: Fusarium yellows resistance
Xcc: Black rot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
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Carol Miller is the editor of American Vegetable Grower, a Meister Media Worldwide publication. See all author stories here.