History of Kale:
Species: Brassica Oleracea
Before the Middle Ages there is not much mention of Kale as a crop. It was grown mainly because it can stand very cold temperatures. This fact is very important, as most people grew their own food. Kale is very easy to grow and in late winter might be the only thing in the garden. Also, cattle thrive very well on Kale.
How much is grown, would depend very much on the country, for example, in France, Kale was grown and then forgotten about for centuries.
In the States, kale was not know until it was introduced there by Russian traders who bought it down from Canada. The crop is still not very popular there even now, being know as soul food only eaten by vegans, in the main.
In the UK, kale was grown in vast amounts during the two world wars, because it was so reliable.
The crop is once again grown all over the world and considered a “superfood”.
Health Benefits:
I am not going to go into the science of Kale and all its vitamins, however I will tell you the benefits I get from eating Kale.
I was working on a farm in Luxembourg and we made hay from Lucerne, unfortunately it turned mouldy and it was breathing in the mould from this that gave me Bronchiectasis. This is a decease that makes me cough a lot. The only way to treat it is with anti-biotics.
I got fed up with this and researched on the net and looked at every lead. What I found was: the best thing to eat for healthy lungs is Kale and apple smoothy.
So on the first of November I started to drink my smoothy, made up of one apple and 60 grams of Kale. Within two weeks I have stopped coughing and felt much better.
Kale is not called a Super Food for nothing, I would not be without it.
Growing Kale:
I have been growing Kale for about ten years and in my experience it will grow on most soils, including light clay. However the better the soil, the better it will grow. Because I need to harvest kale every day of the year, I grow two varieties:
Nero Di Toscana: Also known as Black Tuscan. This Kale is quite bitter with long dark green leaves. It is the best Kale to grow that is resistant to white fly. I sow in early spring and late summer. The kale will grow in a polly tunnel during winter and early spring.
If the summer is not too hot, you should be able to harvest all the year round.
Curly Kale: This is my main Kale because I find that it has very good winter hardiness and will grow well into the summer before it starts to bolt.
I sow early spring and late summer.
I have been looking for another variety to fill up any lack of Kale in mid summer ( because Kale is really a winter crop ) and I have found one that I will try this year (2021)
“Taunton Deane”. This Kale is unusual because it is a perennial plant and will grow to a height of two meters and last up to five years.The leaves have a purple tinge, but overall green. It is also said to be very hardy.
The Kale likes to grow in full sun with spacing between plants of 140cm. “Taunton Deane” is more like a small tree and should not be planted near paths because it is also quite wide.
Not having grown one yet the only problem that I see is: because it is a plant and not a tree it will not be anchored very well in the soil, and to protected it from winter gales, it might well need staking to support it.
However, I am going to give it a go.
Problems: Because Kale is part of the cabbage family you must not grow in the same ground every year, because of cabbage root fly. I grow after my beans.
I very rarely have any trouble growing Kale, never seen caterpillars or the like. The reason, I think is the plant, in the main, is so bitter that the bugs go and find something sweeter. Even pigeons avoid my Kale, except in the very cold winter of 2011 when there was nothing else to eat.
One bug that does thrive on Kale is “white fly”. If you have tapped water to your garden it is a good idea to wash the white fly off once a week. Because I am growing on an allotment and do not pipped water, I spray my Kale with garlic tea, once a week This method does work.
White fly do not do too much damage if you can keep their numbers on the light side.
If the leaves start to turn yellow because you cannot keep up with the ripening of them, do remove them from the plant and ground. The reason is to stop build-up of decease in your soil.
Kale is the most sprayed crop with pesticides, because it is in the field for twelve months and gets sprayed summer and winter. Because of this either grow your own or buy from a source that you know not to use pesticides.
Harvest: You should know, after a while when you kale is ready to harvest. When you do this break of the lower leaves, do not use a knife as that would cause a wound that could cause the plant to rot.
