Kale - which variety?

[Colin Miles]

Which is the tastiest Kale variety, especially for the Jan - April period?

[Cider Boys]

Hello Colin

I would also be interested to know. I haven’t grown kale for more than 30 years. I used to grow a tall Scotch Kale that was locally known as ‘curly green’ and as long as you picked just the small tender leaves it was an ideal winter green.

Barney

[oldherbaceous]

Hello Colin and Barney, my favorite still has to be Pentland Brig, it's hardy, tastes good, and in the spring you get an added bonus of leafy side shoots and spears.
Although i must say i haven't tried many other varieties.
I have grown a variety called Ragged Jack many years ago, this was quite good but i don't know if you can still get the seed.

[cevenol jardin]

Black Tuscan Kale (aka Nero di Toscano or CAVOLO NERO OF TUSCANY)is the most delicious stuff stands well over winter and harvests over a long period from September right through till March. Just pick off leaves as you need them. The leaves turn sweeter after frost and it is not as tough a curly Kale. It laso freezes well.

It really is worth growing. You can get it from Seeds of Italy http://www.seedsofitaly.com or the organic gardening catalogue http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog
I have grown from both seed sources, both good results, but you get a lot more seeds for your money from Seeds of Italy 1800 for £1.49 compared to 140 seeds for £1.67.

[Allan]

I grow Black Tuscany but only for the young shoots in spring. If you pick regularly they will produce for quite a long time. Mine are in a polytunnel.
Allan

[cevenol jardin]

when do you sow yours Allan? Do they do well in the polytunnel ?- I sow mine in seed beds in May then set out June/July.

I thought of sowing later or undercover as a way to avoid cabbage white caterpillers that are faster than i am and strip the plants in summer, but they always seem to bounce back by Autumn.
They have stood here under snow and -8 without a problem.

[Vivien]

I'll vote for black tuscan - really delicious. Kings Seeds sell it and if you can get to an allotment shop they usually sell at a discount. I found it to be like a cross between spring greens for texture and savoy cabbage for flavour. Yum. I'm about to start picking some dwarf green and red russian, so I'll let you know how they are - got to finish my last hispis first.

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
I'm with OH and prefer Pentland Brig. I do not dislike Black Tuscan, which I have not grown it for a number of years because of my preference to PB, but I suppose I should really try it again. Personal tastes change over the years and who knows I might now prefer it. I grow Red Russian for Salads not for cooking. I do not get on with the F1 varieties that are supposed to be an improved plant but I find them all tough by comparison with PB.
JB.

[Colin Miles]

Thanks everyone. I note that Black Tuscan is said to have a strong peppery flavour. True? If so then I would probably prefer Pentland Brig.

[Alison]

Kale is one of my favourite winter vegs, as it is so easy to pick even when it's frosty and you don't have to dig it up! I love the fact that it is so good for you AND delicious!
I try to grow a range of different ones, as they all have different flavours. Also there is a huge variety of sizes, and because of butterflies I am rapidly trying to concentrate on kales that will be small enough to fit under my home-made frame!
The Black Tuscan one is especially good in stir-fries, as it holds its shape. Beautiful flavour and looks great on the plot, though it is quite tall.
Red Russian is a favourite of mine, as it is very pretty in its red-edged leaves and quite small - bushing out rather than up.
Pentland Brig and Hungry Gap are both quite curly and much taller.
Asparagus Kale is available from some suppliers and although it doesn't IMHO taste anything like asparagus it is not a particularly strong cabbage-flavour which some people prefer and is a pretty pale green colour.
One of my Pentland Brig plants was eaten off at a very early stage but grew back multi-stemmed, so it is now producing on a lower bush! So I might try "pollarding" the taller ones in early summer, to make them low enough to fit under the frame!
Alison

[Colin Miles]

Hi Alison,

Lot to think about. How would you actually rate the flavours? Asparagus Kale mild and not that cabbagy, Black Tuscan - peppery? And the rest?

[Monika]

Dwarf Curly Kale for me. Stands any amount of frost and doesn't have to be staked. Ragged Jack is quite fun to grow with its "ragged" leaves but the ribs can be tough and it usually collapses in very cold weather.
All in all, kales are much easier to grow than spring cabbage, taste nicer and are hardier, I think.

[Colin Miles]

Thanks Monika - will try the Dwarf!

[Alison]

The flavour also depends on which leaves you pick, as older leaves are stronger in flavour and coarser. If I am feeling thrifty and virtuous and in my "this is what the peasants used to live on, so I'll be good" mode, I pick the older leaves to leave the younger ones to grow bigger and make the crop last longer. But when I have lots of plants, I can afford to pick just the much younger leaves; you need more of them, of course, as they are smaller, but they have a much more delicate flavour. When I have bought it in the supermarket, I am amazed at the size of the leaves, as I wouldn't pick them that old.
Alison.

[Vivien]

I made my first pickings at the weekend of these chaps and they were really delicious. 3 medium sized leaves of each (leafy part 6-8 inches long) made a good sized portion for me & hubby. Texture was chewier than cabbage, but the flavour was very sweet with a hint of bitterness, but not overtly 'cabbagey'. Very good indeed.