Gardening In Space Station: First Crop Of Chinese Cabbage Harvested

Astronaut Peggy Whitson has just received the fruit of her labor from gardening in the International Space Station (ISS). That is, the first crop of Chinese cabbage, in which she harvested on Feb. 17.

NASA stated that this the fifth crop grown aboard the station and the first crop of Chinese cabbage. Of course, the space station crew will have a taste of the Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage. On the other hand, some of them will be saved for scientific study at the Kennedy Space Center.

Nicole Dufour, the Veggie Project Manager, said that astronaut Peggy Whitson did an amazing job. She further said that Peggy would not give up and she could get the seed in pillow D to germinate. She tended the cabbage for almost a month.

.@AstroPeggy, astronaut aboard International Space Station, harvests first batch of Chinese cabbage – via @scroll_in https://t.co/YKiRDC2V8b

— Vinay Pandey (@vinaypandey) February 19, 2017

"I love gardening on Earth and it is just as fun in space," Peggy Whitson tweeted. She further said that she just needs more room to plant more.

The Tokyo Bekana cabbage was one of the four candidates that were sent to Johnson Space Center's Space Food System for evaluation on their nutritional value and how well they grow. The cabbage ranked first in all the taste categories, according to Economic Times.

Meanwhile, in the space station, the taste buds of astronauts seem dull. This is why they often add honey, hot sauce or soy sauce on their food. One reason for this is that in a reduced gravity environment, the fluid in astronauts' bodies shifts around equally instead of being pulled down into their legs just like on planet Earth. This fluid that occupies their faces reduces their ability to smell. With this and other odors that they smell compete with the taste of their food and causing dullness in their sense of taste.

According to NASA, there will be another veggie system to be sent in space this spring. This will provide side-by-side comparisons for future planet experiments and, of course, would make astronaut Peggy Whitson happy for having a bigger space garden.