Rapini seed Brassica rapa

LATIN NAME: Brassica rapa

COMMON NAME: Rapini

The rapini is the early green of the cool kitchen, and the small, yellow, four-petalled flowers open among the dark, lobed leaves. The upright, fast-growing, annual or biennial plant carries the deeply lobed, dark-green leaves with the slight bloom and the clusters of the small, yellow, four-petalled flowers through the early spring, to be followed by the narrow, upright pods. The young leaves and the flower shoots have a long record as the fine, early green of the warm kitchens, and the plant is a fine, generous presence of the cool vegetable garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, rich, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The rapini is an early, useful subject of the plant science, and the yellow clusters keep showing up in the work on the turnip group. The breeding of the brassicas for the early, tender shoots has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the leafy brassicas, the early spring vegetables and the members of the cabbage family. The deeply lobed leaves and the upright, fast habit have also made it a fine crop plant, and the rapini is a regular subject of the work on the early greens of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The rapini is a fine, generous plant of the cool vegetable garden. The young leaves and the flower shoots have a long record as the fine, early green of the warm kitchens, sauteed into the garlicky greens, tossed into the pasta and the risotto of the spring table. The clusters of the small, yellow flowers open through the early spring, one of the fine, early sights of the vegetable garden, and the plant grows fast on the cool, rich ground. It is one of the fine choices for the early vegetable garden, the spring bed and the cool-season plot, and the tender shoots come again through the cool season. It has been written about in the culinary and the agricultural papers for the early shoots and the tender ways, and it is a fine, generous plant of the open, sunny, rich, moist, well-drained garden.

Water well in the dry spells, for the fast, leafy growth likes the cool, rich ground of the spring.

To grow the rapini from seed, sow the small, round seeds just under the surface of a pot of loose, free-draining soil, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the cool ground. The seedlings push through within a few days and grow on fast. With the sun and the rich, moist ground, the yellow clusters will come through the early spring.

Flowering stems and leaves have pleasant bitter flavour when cooked, steamed or sauteed. Popular Italian appetizer served with garlic and olive oil. Sown in early spring for harvest before hot weather or in mid-to-late summer for fall harvest. 60 days.