From Wild Plants to Modern Veggies

From Wild Plants to Modern Veggies: The Evolution of Our Garden Crops

The vegetables we harvest today look very different from their wild ancestors. Behind each cultivated variety lies a long story of human interaction, patient selection, and adaptation to climate, taste, and use.

Take carrots, for instance. The wild version is tough and fibrous—not exactly tasty. The earliest cultivated varieties came from the Middle East and were yellow or even purple. It wasn’t until 17th-century Dutch growers selected for deeper orange hues that the familiar carrot we know today was born. And now? A whole rainbow of colors is back, including beautiful bi-colored types!

Cabbage might be the best example of transformation. From the bitter coastal wild cabbage, humans have developed curly kale, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi—all from the same original plant, selected for different traits: leaves, stems, buds, or flowers.

Celery too has a swamp-loving ancestor: wild marsh celery, still found in wet ditches. The Romans used it as a seasoning, but it wasn’t until the 15th century in Italy that growers began selecting for edible stalks and roots, giving us modern celery and celeriac—plants that still need lots of water to thrive.

Other heavily modified crops include lettuce and chicory, once bitter and non-heading wild plants, and beetroot, which evolved from the seaside beet (Beta maritima) into both colorful chard and fat, round beets thanks to generations of care.

Why does this matter?

At Cycle en Terre, we believe in food autonomy and seed sovereignty. Knowing the history of the plants we grow reconnects us with a deeper agricultural heritage—one we can continue by sowing open-pollinated, organic seeds.

To sow is to carry the story forward.