In 1866, Daniel Chase made the first motto hearts candies. Today, more than 8 billion of the heart-shaped candies are made every year, with phrases such as “Be Mine” stamped onto the chalky treats.
You can also plant a garden filled with hearts. The Italian cabbage called Cuor di Bue Grosso translates to oxheart cabbage (Brassica oleracea). It grows strikingly beautiful, cone-shaped heads with tightly packed leaves. This is an early cabbage you can plant either in the spring or early autumn. It has a crisp, fine taste, and the inner leaves and heart are mild enough to toss raw into salads. This versatile cabbage is equally delicious steamed and served with butter. In a sunny spot, plant Cuor di Bue Grosso cabbage seeds 1/4 inch deep, 12 inches apart to give them room to develop. Cabbage grows best in soil with a pH of 6.0-7.5, with cooler weather and regular watering. These 3- to 4-pound pointed cabbages are ready to harvest in just 70-75 days.
Another Italian oxheart vegetable is the Cuor di Bue tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). This beautiful oxheart tomato is big at 7 to 9 ounces. Like all oxheart tomatoes, it is meaty with few seeds. This main-season tomato has the old-fashioned big tomato taste, which is perfect for sandwiches, salads and cooking into spaghetti sauce. These are very big, energetic plants that will need strong support. Even though oxheart tomatoes are large and full-flavored, they are fairly early to produce.
Sow tomato seeds indoors a few weeks before transplanting them into the garden. Using a heat mat underneath will speed up germination. You also can sow seed directly in the garden after all danger of frost has passed and the ground has warmed up. Do not water tomatoes too much, or they will crack. If you experience blossom end rot, add a calcium-rich fertilizer or place eggshells around each plant. Tomato plants grow best with a soil pH of 5.5-7.5.
Finally, we have oxheart carrots (Daucus carota). These are big, thick, heart-shaped carrots that can reach 1 pound each. In spite of their huge size, the bright-orange carrots stay sweet and crisp, and never taste woody. Carrots prefer light, fluffy soil, although because of their blunt shape, these carrots are a good choice if you have heavy clay or shallow soil. They do best with a soil pH of 5.5-7.0.
Seeds of oxheart vegetables are widely available at garden centers and nurseries, or from mail-order seed companies such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com), Seeds from Italy (www.growitalian.com or by mail Seeds from Italy, PO Box 3908, Lawrence, KS 66046), and Victory Seeds (www.victoryseeds.com).
And the little candy company in New England that invented the candy hearts would later be known as the New England Confectionery Company, aka NECCO, and their other famous candy is NECCO wafers. Talk about sweet success!
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Paul Barbano writes about gardening from his home in Rehoboth Beach. Contact him by writing to P. O. Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958.
