Perennial kale - worth it or not bother?

[lzjohnson]

Hi all,
My first post is a question RE: perennial kale, which sounds like an ideal way to maintain home grown greens throughout the year. However it is difficult to find and is a bit pricey online if you manage to find a horticulturalist who sends small plants or cuttings.

Is it worth it, do you think? (I'm in Leicestershire fwiw.)

If so, do you have the Daubenton or the Taunton Deane?
If not, then do you think a hardy flowering brassica, like the walking stick cabbage, is a better option? (I'm pretty sure Real Seeds UK sells these).

Many thanks for any advice/opinions/help you can give.
Liz

[veggiechicken]

Hi Liz and welcome
I have a soft spot for kales - especially the tall ones. I've grown Daubenton from seed from the Heritage Seed Library. Its not supposed to flower but mine does
I don't find it as big as some of the other kales I grow. You seem to be able to perennialise some of these - and grow them on from cuttings or seed.
More about my Kale adventures at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ard_92852.html
and http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ale_71170.html (No images).

[Jay-ell]

I've got Taunton Deane, Daubentons Kale, Asturian Tree Cabbage and I've grew Walkingstick Kale and I have some Couve Galega seedlings growing at the moment.

The Taunton Deal gets big and is hard to protect from the pigeons but has bounced back and is quite prolific. It went to flower this year but I didn't manage to save any seeds.

The Walkingstick kale I dug out after 2 years when it was 6 foot tall as, although there were only 2 plants planted at the far end of the 8' bed it branched out and took over the majority of the bed and the paths. It has a stronger flavour to it, the older leaves are tough so best for compost or chicken fodder. They get covered in masses of flowers and are great for pollinators. I've seedlings popping up all over the place at the minute - 1000s of 6 foot edible weeds

The Asturian Tree Cabbage is a star, milder flavoured light green loose leaf cabbage it's been in over a year and produces loads. It hasn't flowered yet but when it does flower you can cut off the crown and it will regrow branches. Unfortunately it's in a bed that I probably have to dig up next year to remove the weed control fabric from so I've got a couple of seedlings growing and I may try taking cuttings later in the year. It hasn't been bothered by pigeons.

The Daubentons isn't going as fast, in hindsight I realise that the soil in that plot wasn't as good as it seemed so I'm retrospectively applying mulches to try and improve it. It also suffered from the pigeons

[lzjohnson]

Thanks, guys

Thanks, guys. I think I might change my preference to the Asturian then.
I am really surprised about being able to get flowers and seed set in the Daubenton and Taunton. Perhaps it depends on where you are, as the commercially available ones have their needing to be cloned as a sellng point. Considering their price I think I'll suss out some Asturian seed.
Much appreciated!

[Jay-ell]

This is where I got the seed from
Cabbage Vegetable Seeds to buy in the UK from The Real Seed Catalogue

[lzjohnson]

Thanks again

This is where I got the seed from
Cabbage Vegetable Seeds to buy in the UK from The Real Seed Catalogue

Thank you! :-)

[lzjohnson]

Update on perennial kale choices

Hi there. It's more than 6 months later & I did end up buying the Taunton Deane ... it is taking some time to get established even though it was a plantlet (not cuttings). I'm unimpressed. OTOH the Asturian Tree Cabbage is a wonderful plant. I love the softer, lime green leaves that are much nicer than regular cabbage head leaves. As a result I am now ramping up the Asturian sections so I can have a forest before this coming Winter hits.
Thanks so much for your advice. The Asturian is a winner for me!

[veggiechicken]

An Asturian Tree Cabbage Forest.
I'm growing a kale forest using sideshoots from an unknown kale.

Remember this Jay-ell? https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...age_95234.html