As people have expressed interest in growing CT, I thought it might be useful to share information from an old book I've got from 1961, originally printed in January 1939, and revised in 1947. Amazing what you find for 50p in house-clearance shops! ;D
Excerpt from “The ABC Of Vegetable Gardening” by W.E. Shewell-Cooper, Chapter XI “Unusual Vegetables”, pages 222 – 223
Couve Tronchuda
The Portugal Cabbage, as it is sometimes called, is a strong growing type which requires plenty of room. It has very large midribs, which are thick, white, and tender. These are used in the same manner as seakale. The leaf part and the top part of the plant are used in the same way as ordinary cabbage.
Seed-Sowing. See Chou de Burghley*
Planting. They are transplanted into rich and well-prepared soil as soon as possible. The plant should be set out 2 ft. each way. They should be watered plentifully during dry weather.
Harvesting. As soon as the bottom leaves are large enough they may be cut off and the leaf portion detached from the midrib. Each part should be cooked separately.
*Seed-Sowing. The seed is sown in March or early April in a seed-bed outside. The rows should be 6 ins. apart, and as soon as the plants are large enough to handle they may be planted out into a further seed-bed 6 ins. square. (Taken from Chou de Burghley, page 222.
Personal Note: Seakale can either be steamed or lightly boiled in salted water with lemon juice added. In The Victorian Kitchen Garden, Harry Dobson said that it was well thought of by cook because it didn't give off a strong smell when cooking.
Hope this is of help!
Dave
P.S. Found a pic on the net showing roughly what it looks like. D
