Chance of Cavolo Nero Seeds Coming True?

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Hi All,

A new member to the forum here and very much enjoying reading through. But on to business....

My neighbouring plot has been abandoned and the Cavolo Nero Kale plants that they planted last year have gone to seed. There are about 12 plants and I've collected millions of seeds from them. My question is...how likely are they to come true and not to have crossed with anything else? I can't see that any other brassicas have gone to seed nearby apart from a single sprouting broccoli on the other abandoned plot adjacent to mine.

Is there any point sowing them? What are the chances of ending up with a sprouting cavolo Nero that's good for neither leaves nor sprouts? Or might I end up with a superb new variety? Any thoughts or experience of this?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

[Alison]

It depends if there are any brassicas flowering nearby, if not they should be fine, if there is then they'll probably have crossed.

[veggiechicken]

Hello VAMP and Croeso from South Wales
I've no idea about how pure the kale seeds are but, there's only one way to find out! Sow them and see - you can eat the seedlings raw in salad so if they taste foul then, you can consign the rest to the compost heap

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Just thought I'd let you know how the seeds have turned out so far...
Pretty much a 100% germination rate which was a good start.
Sowed in 12 modules and planted out the strongest from each module.
Now have 12 plants. 11 look just like Cavolo Nero but one outcast has purple stems and wider leaves and looks a lot more like a sprouting broccoli. Maybe one or two flowers crossed then!
I'm growing them all on despite rabbit attacks. Haven't tasted yet but will let you know when I do in the depths of winter.

[Chippy Minton]

Ooh, ooh, did you grow the cross breed on? Cavolo Nero leaves with purple sprouting heads would be lovely We grow both but both on one plant would free up some space

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Oh yes. Cross breed growing nicely! I'm intrigued as to what it'll do in Spring! I'll try to get a picture next time I'm down there.

[poly]

Sounds like a good result for the kale and fun to have one that's crossed. Look forward to pictures.

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Hello again. Finally got some pics but sorry about the quality. It was really sunny today so I couldn't really tell what I was photographing with the glare!
Anyway...here is a picture of one of the truer seedlings followed by the hybrid with purple stems. The purple hasn't come out that well in the pic but it is quite noticeable in the flesh. Thinking about it, I'm not so sure the first one is so true at all. Its leaves look quite wide for a Cavolo Nero. I'll have to wait for a taste test in the winter. The other seedlings all look like the first one.
If they're horrid, I'll leave them until spring when they may sprout something interesting. If the slugs don't get there first of course. ( Hybrid has suffered a bit of an attack in the photo).

[Alison]

Hello again. Finally got some pics but sorry about the quality. It was really sunny today so I couldn't really tell what I was photographing with the glare!
Anyway...here is a picture of one of the truer seedlings followed by the hybrid with purple stems. The purple hasn't come out that well in the pic but it is quite noticeable in the flesh. Thinking about it, I'm not so sure the first one is so true at all. Its leaves look quite wide for a Cavolo Nero. I'll have to wait for a taste test in the winter. The other seedlings all look like the first one.
If they're horrid, I'll leave them until spring when they may sprout something interesting. If the slugs don't get there first of course. ( Hybrid has suffered a bit of an attack in the photo).

First one looks like Nero to me but the other one is more like a ragged type kale. Worth growing on though, most of those types are good in deepest winter.

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Well, I have about another thousand seeds where they came from! Might get interesting crosses every year. As far as I know, the only other brassicas flowering anywhere nearby were sprouting broccoli so who knows what we'll end up with. We have yet to put any to the taste test however.

[poly]

They both look like they should be useful overwinter veg and the first one does look a Cavolo Nero type, second one has an interesting leaf too. If it is a cross to Sprouting broccoli the leaves should still be tasty (it does look a like a kale leaf) although they might not be as tender or you might get a nice sprouting type, cool

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Just thought I'd update on the crossbreed experiment. My first lot produced well all winter and are still going now. Haven't bolted at all.
Also planted a second crop this spring which are now very well established. I've taken a picture of the wide variety of leaves I've ended up with! Some are very true to Cavolo Nero whilst others are def more broccoli-ish. So the seeds are definitely a cross but they all taste great and seem to be exceptionally hardy and bolt resistant. All in all a successful experiment. Thanks goodness as I still have about ten billion seeds left.
I've saved seeds from my ?Red Russian this year so that's the next experiment. I actually found that flower heads from kale ( red Russian at least) are a thousand times tastier and sweeter than PSB. I cut them and ate them and cut them and ate them and they never stopped coming!

[Snadger]

Chooks would soon polish them off whatever they looked/tasted like!