Did You Know Cabbage Prevents Cancer?

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Cabbage is a bicolored vegetable that is used, prepared, and cooked in many different ways. This plant can bloom either green or purple and has been cultivated for approximately 4,000 years. Taking only three months to grow, cabbage will yield more edible vegetables than any other plant per acre. Also, cabbage has been used through scientific research which has linked it to cancer prevention. This creates a valuable supply and demand market in the US.
Brassica oleracea capitata is the scientific name of cabbage. “Its scientific name originates from brassica. . .the Latin classical name for cabbage” (Quattrochi, 349). The common name, cabbage is referring to the French origin word, Caboche, also meaning round or head.
Cabbage was first domesticated around1000 BC by the Celts who brought the plant to Europe from Asia. Numerous botanist and plant scientist including: Cato, Pliny, Columella, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus described cabbage for different uses both as a culinary and a medicinal plant. Cabbage was introduced to the western would by French navigator Jacques Cartier when he came to the Americas in 1536.
Planting cabbage is fairly simple with few rules to follow to make sure production is up to satisfaction. When directly seeding, place seed 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep in soil. Irrigation should take place every three days until the seedlings are established. Precision seeding decreases or eradicates the need for and price of thinning. Place the seed every 6 to 10 inches in the row. Also remember, cabbage should be strictly rotated. Never grow cabbage or related crops on the same soil more than once every 3 years.(Allen 48) This will help to control various root rots.
When using fertilizer on cabbage one should apply lime and f...

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..., China leads the world in production of cabbage with the United States following in at number eight. The US is also credited with both importing and exporting close to $20 million worth of cabbage. Once again on average, cabbage yields $15.30 per hundredweight.
Today cabbage is primarily valued as a fresh market vegetable, although research continues on the value of the medicinal assets that have been found to assistance in the prevention of cancer. While the demand for cabbage now may be averagely ranked among other vegetables, the value of Brassica oleracea capitata will definitely increase if stopping a fatal disease is in its future.

Works Cited

Allen, Charles Linnaeus. 1901. Cabbage, Cauliflower And Allied Vegetables. Apple Wood Books. Bedford, Massachusetts.
Quatrocchi, Umberto. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Volume I A-C. London: CRC Press. 2000.

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