permaculture

[yarrow@sfo.com]

> On Nov 1, 2009, at 4:09 AM, yarrow@sfo.com wrote:
> >  Is anyone in the south growing perennial kale (aka tree collards)
> >  successfully?
At 4:29 PM -0500 11/1/09, Brandy Davis wrote:
> My neighbor had what she thought was "plain ol' kale" last through the
> winter her in Chattanooga.  It did sorta look like a tree.  I'm having
> good luck with Arugula self seeding.
> >  _______________________________________________

I've kept many "annual" kales for at least 2-3 years by limiting the 
number of flower heads that can go to seed (eating them!).

I was excited about the description of Western Front perennial kale 
in the book Perennial Vegetables by Toensmeier, but when I searched 
for it online, the one source I found described it as a selection of 
mostly Red Russian kale that will live about 3 years. Seeds were 
collected from the 10 percent of seedlings that survived cold 
winters. Has anyone tried Western Front?

Anyway, the perennial kale I have gets purpler in cooler months and 
hasn't produced any flowers at all in the 4-5 years or so I've been 
growing it. Cuttings I planted last fall quickly grew to 5-6 ft. 
high, and the plant loves to sprawl if allowed to.