Kale

[tim]

Nero may be great, but Red Russian has to be the tastiest one for salads that I have come across.

[tim]

[Pickle]

 Never tried it Tim ,so on your recommendation I'll try some of the red Russian,
got to try something new once in a while :D

   Pickle ;D

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

Kale is such an under-rated veg. I think it's blooming wonderful, and so trouble free too

[Teena]

I agree its under rated  we grew some last year only 1 row  'dwarf curly' but we've had so much off them.
theres some in the freezer and the veg rack and we must have given at least a dozen carrier bags full of it away. I was surprised at how many others didnt know what it was or how to cook it.
My hubby wasnt to sure when i first suggested it but i can remember it on my grandads allot when i was about 10 and we always took some home for dinner.
Definately growing some more ths year. :)

[debster]

i grew curly kale and what has surprised me is how much you get and how long the crop goes on for i harvested, blanched and froze loads the other day, its been growing for months  ;D

[froglets]

Hi Tim,

Can't say I rate Nero, the heads I tried weren't "green" enough tasting for me.  I'm trying red Russian for the first time this year so looking forward to it even more since you reccommend it.

[redimp]

I grow red ruissian, cavalo nero and dwarf curly.  Makes a wonderful mix for dinner.  I love kale and really agree that it is an underrated vegetable.  The red russian would look at home in a decorative border too.

[calendula]

the variety Redbor is also worth trying, it is a wonderful colour, dark purple and very curly - i grow as many as possible and am still picking last years, that's how long they will last and together the colours are wonderful  :)

[barkingdog]

I love it too. Last year I grew Redbor and Red Russian both of which were brilliant. This year I've grown Nero but I've found that it has now gone to flower and is very bitter  :P

I have some seeds for dwarf green so maybe I'll give that a go this year!

barkingdog

[Mrs Ava]

I always mix Red Russian in with my loose leaf salad mixes as it is a fab young leaf - I never grow it to cook, I leave that for the more robost kales.

[otto_nowak]

is it just the youngest leaves you can eat raw?

[silverbirch]

I like Nero as well, it's good and reliable (though the hares and deer took a liking to it this year).  I find it has to be quite finely shredded for cooking though, and it doesn't take to steaming.
One of the best bits is to let it flower, then treat it like a sprouting broccoli.

Green kale is always good, and I'm trying the red for the first time for next winter.

[sawfish]

I love my Sutherland Kale from Realseeds

[star]

Im trying Sutherland for the first time Sawfish, they gave it a very good recomendation in the catalogue. Im looking forward to it. One question. Because its an old variety, does it get bigger than the newer ones? What spacing do you give it?

[sawfish]

I gave it 18 inches and it doesn't grow too big. The leaves are finer than normal Kale.

[Mrs Ava]

I use it as a cut and come again type salad leaf, so yes, it tends to only be young leaves, however, I am a bit of a greens lover and do eat the larger leaves raw if shredded.

[star]

Excellent, thank you :D