The Power of Purple

Purple Peppers

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Indigo, purple, brown, black:  They are chock full of anthocyanin as well as the rest of the goodies in their red, green, orange or yellow cousins.  Anthocyanin is the super charged antioxidant found in blueberries.  Purple fruits and veggies are packed with flavonoids, too.  All these nutritional benefits come from the indigo color. 

As more folks hear about the health benefits of purple, there are more and more varieties available to grow.  You can get purple carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, beets, onions, corn, blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, asparagus, brussels sprouts, cabbage, potatoes, radicchio, mustard, pac choi, peas, basil, figs, honeyberry, orach, tomatillo, kohlrabi, okra, beans, kale, peppers, okra, lettuce and corn.  

Darkly tinted purple tomatoes

There are whole sections devoted to purple tinted veggies in seed catalogues this year so they are easy to find.  You can get a purple variety of almost any vegetable you like to grow.  

There are no special requirements to raise purple tinted fruits and vegetables.  They are the same as their traditionally colored sisters, just with more nutrition.  They really shine in the garden and containers as a beautiful splash of color, too.  Try adding them to your garden this year!

Purple tinted chard and lettuce