September 30 Fruit History

We’re mentioned as coming from Syria by a Spanish Arab in the 12th century. We spread from Crete and Malta to the Italian mainland in the late 14th century and from there into Europe. It took until the end of the 18th century for us to become popular throughout Europe and England.

Along with other vegetables, we were planted on Norfolk Island in March 1788. A letter exists from Governor Arthur Phillip, the first governor appointed by the British, to Sir Joseph Banks telling him that ‘colly flowers’ had been growing at Sydney Cove for weeks. We were also recorded as growing in a garden at The Rocks, Sydney, in 1803 with some being as large as 4.5 - 5.5kg. It’s obvious we were an essential vegetable in the early life of the colony.

We prefer to be grown in cool, dry weather, on clay-like to sandy soil with plenty of access to water. We’re grown from seedlings, which are generally grown in a controlled environment like a nursery, then transplanted into the ground. We’re ready for harvesting when the ‘curds’ are large and firm.

We have large, spreading, green leaves at our base which surround, but do not completely cover, our central stalk which bears a large round tightly packed mass of white to creamy-white curds, so called because it looks like milk curds. If we were not covered with leaves while growing, instead of little white curds we would form lots of small, yellow inedible flowers.

We’re harvested when our head is still firm and has reached the appropriate size. A farmer will check our heads up to 5 times to ensure we’re ready to harvest which is done by cutting our stem off at ground level.