Kailaan, chinese kale anyone grown it?

[smallblueplanet]

Wondering about trying kailaan - anyone grown it?

[oldie]

I tried it last year but it bolted, sowed it to soon. I'll try again but won't sow till mid July.

[Bramble_killer]

Ive got some seeds somewhere and it was ok. A lot of mine bolted but I think the long dry spells in July last year didnt help.

[Florence Fennel]

Not heard of this Manda, I'll take a look, thanks, we love kale.

[smallblueplanet]

Thanks for the growing info, might try it later in the year then.

@Flo - think its more like broccoli but all of it is edible apparently, so maybe the leaves are kale-like?

[oldie]

The Real Seeds site have a good description in the Oriental Veg section.

[unclefudgly]

I sowed mine a couple of days ago in modules. Have grown it before with a little success, the plot is looking better now though so I am hopeful for better results this time around. Very rich , fertile , moisture retentive and free draining soils are what Joy Larkcom recommends in her guide to growing oriental veggies. They need to grow quickly apparently to stop them getting too tough.

[buzzingtalk]

Kailaan is delicious - and I didn't realise you could grow it over in the UK. I've never even been able to buy it in the UK and it's one of my favourite veg, as I used to eat it a lot when I was out in Asia.

It is a mix of PSB, with leaves that are like greens and kale. Very delicious, and very good for you. Stir fry it with some soy sauce, ginger, garlic and onion, yum yum

I have some seeds and will be attempting to grow them this year.