As you may recall, the city of Kent at one time promoted itself as the "Lettuce Capital of the World". No small bragging rights claimed by these folks back in the day. But their claims to agricultural braggadocio didn't end with lettuce. Have you ever see the cabbage also grown in the White River Valley?
Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, SOC8387, William Martin photographer, circa 1908
Growing cabbage may have been an even bigger truck farming business in the valley - though I must admit to a degree of skepticism when I look a the above postcard. Could cabbage actually grow this big without the benefit of photoshop? Without a doubt, cabbage grown in the valley gets very large, then and now.
Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1986.5.1346.1, photo taken in the Kent Valley, circa 1943
No matter how you look at it, these cabbages were huge. Would you believe that in 1943, the amount of cabbage grown in White River valley farms, Bellevue, Bothell and Sammamish areas totaled over 15,500 tons, an increase during wartime of over 50% compared to harvest levels in 1942? Where did all of this food go? Some cabbage was dried into flakes for military meals and some sold to local homeowners for family use. But the vast majority went to Sauerkraut factories for canning. That's a whole lot of sauerkraut in your diet.
Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1986.5.1346.3, photo taken in the Kent Valley, circa 1943
When was the last time you had sauerkraut for dinner? Pretty hard to find it in the store these days, though if you go shopping at Carpinito Bros. Farm in Kent this time of year, you can give making sauerkraut a try yourself. Or perhaps you might want to make your own specialty coleslaw with enough to feed the whole neighborhood. These cabbages are still really really huge!
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