Anyone out there who knows about KALE. We have here in Vancouver over 150plants of Boerkool "the curly green/grey Kale leaves some up to 3feet tall NEVER made any seeds and Red Russian that we let some go to seed and collected but NOW some aphyds infested all the red and is starting on the curly one also. I would MUCH apreciate anyone to solve my dillemma . Can I cut down the Red Russian Kale and ( will it grow now again ?) or must I rip it all out and CAN I PUT new seeds in the ground NOW in late October? or must I start the seedings indoor ? As the http://www.wieltjeshoeve.be/site/b_kool.htm has never made any seeds will it continue to grow taller ? or shall I just cut it down ? when all is eaten ( or shall I cut all the leafs and freeze them for later ,my plan ) we have a LOT ANYONE OUT THERE BETTER THAN ME In "Dutch " Een totaal andere manier om kool beter verteerbaar te maken is melkzuurgisting. Bij deze (stokoude) bewaarmethode blijven de vitamines (C, B1, B2, B3 en D) intact. Melkzuur stimuleert de spijsvertering en is eetlustopwekkend. I translate like this approximatly Total other manner to improves cabbage digestibility is to (milk heartburn fermentation.) This method keeps the vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3 and D) alive and they remain intact. (milk heartburn stimulates the spijsvertering(digestion) and is eetlustopwekkend.( awakens the love to eat) What is "melkzuur" I thought (milk heartburn) or SOUR MILK but how does one cook something in SOUR MILK WAY ? Any of you have a Dutch granny mine is gone... :-) Thanks I have 2 elevated KALE bed and the two in the ground on one side and two more on the other side of the house as per picture. All will be 100% exposed to snow I have one row I planted along the house ( warmer walls) but that is the curly one CAN I MOVE a RED KALE PLANT with its roots to another location?
Wait till next spring! They will flower after wintering over. By the way, bees love them and they are a great addition to a green salad (the flowers, not the bees!).
Google (at http://translate.google.com ) translates melkzuurgisting as lactic acid fermentation rather than milk heartburn fermentation. It also translates kool as coal rather than kale, but I think we can disregard that hiccup. The Google translated text reads, "A completely different way to make coal more palatable is lactic acid fermentation. This (very old) storage method remain the vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3 and D) intact. Lactic acid stimulates digestion and appetite stimulant." There seems to be a lot of recent interest in lactic acid fermentation. If you want to try it, there are numerous web pages that describe how to do it. Google will find them for you. :)
Thank you so much for your effort in replying to my query. I will look into it. I was told by a dutch lady that it's like making "Sauerkraut"
Hello I was quite surprised today with the Frost-2C degree my curly Kale went totally limp and is starting to rot .. I thought yepee it will be winter no snow Kale will do so well and its a total let down ... only my Red Russian seem to still have a few leaves that are not sort of going soft... Well I guess it will be back to the grocery store for a few months . Thanks for all the good advise of all.
Don't give up yet... In very cold weather plants can look very whippy. Sometimes they die, but sometimes when the weather becomes just a little warmer they recover. The ground here is now frozen to about 4 inches, and the Kale, lettuce, parsley look like they have died, but they often make a remarkable recovery on warmer winter days. Don't give up yet, and don't handle them. I think that may cause cellular problems to the plant.
Glad to hear it, VI. I have the same problem right now. I even built a cloche and everything, but the kale looks like it's melting.
