The pros and cons of perennial kale and its alternatives

[@ginger_wby]

Thanks pal. Was really keen to see your kale collection! Kind regards and happy growing (through the storm especially)

[@SteveRichards]

Thanks Mark, I forgot that I also have Red Ruble kale, which we use in salads and smoothies, it's been great : All the best - Steve

[@juned5442]

I got cuttings of Daubentons and Taunton Deane In November, I have them in the greenhouse in pots hopefully rooting well so I can plant out in the spring. This is my first encounter with them. previously I have grown, curly kale, Nero and dwarf kale, along with collard greens and spinach. I have found even in the greenhouse the plants are not coping with the very cold conditions when temperatures get real low. Thank you for the video its very helpful.

[@SteveRichards]

They need a decent amount of ventilation in a greenhouse and mainly benefit from daytime heat and night time shelter from the wind : all the best - Steve

[@AJWGBFX]

Hi Steve, I bought a perennial kale 2 years ago in spring. No idea what I was doing so put it in the polytunnel. Wow what a monster grew. In the late winter I took some cuttings, dug it up and replanted it outside. That summer it produced seeds. I'm growing some of these this year to see if they grow true.

[@SteveRichards]

A rare find, they will be popular if you share them around : All the best - Steve

[@ben-fe3zy]

Really useful video, as usual. My Nero di Toscana, Dwarf green curled and Daubentons were all eaten by rodents this year. The moment the frost hit, they climbed up the stems, ate the leaves and channeled into the stems themselves. Guess, like us, that they like the sweet Kales post-frost.

[@SteveRichards]

What a blow James, fortunately we are surrounded by houses and hence cats, so our rodent problem is relatively mild : All the best - Steve

[@nukasallotment7496]

Hallo Steve. You know I like the kales. I got put off curly kale two year's ago when they were infested with white fly. I have one Taunton Dean perennial kale which I bought 5-6 years ago for £7.00 from Pennard plants. It is now 6-7ft tall and staked in my garden. (its end is nigh!). The pigeons don't touch it but I think they may in a very cold winter, and they certainly would if it were on the allotment. I have about 15 plantlets of Taunton Dean perennial kale, (finally) successfully taken last spring. I shall keep a couple and sell the rest off for charity. I think I have killed off the Daubenton kale but may have saved a couple of cuttings - or not. As you know, I am impressed by your 1000 headed kale and the hungry gap kale. As usual, no space for more than one of them. I use a couple of kale leaves in my smoothies. I shall also try to grow a couple of kalettes this year, influenced by you and your love of them. Take care. Nuka..

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Nuka, kalettes really deliver if they get good light and plenty of organic food, I'd try them rather than plant more kale, if it were me, although it does depend on how much you value winter/early spring greens : All the best - Steve

[@alisonforrester4612]

Thanks so much for this Steve... This year with my new allotment, brassicas are one of my challenges. Not done them before. I have some of everything, so going to try and see what my allotment space likes ( I don’t have a poly tunnel yet) then change for next year. Your videos are so helpful. I’m sure I’ll be asking for advice or rewatching many of your videos as I have already... I’m trying nearly everything you’ve suggested, perennial wise Ive got Daubenton, Taunton Deane and Panaché Daubenton... have a good weekend, Alison

[@SteveRichards27]

Alison Forrester hi Alison, brassicas are such a wonderful family of veggies. You won’t need a polytunnel, I only have a few kales in mine to extend the harvest a little, by sowing in August rather than March : all the best - Steve

[@ReallyGottaTap]

Surely you must be the King of Kales! Loved the perennial vs. annual info. Thank you so much. I may have to figure out how to do at least a low tunnel in my garden. Your kales are gorgeous! Do you do veg boxes? You must be able to feed so many mouths.

[@SteveRichards]

We feed all of our local family and we have some surplus - mainly from the garden - for friends and neighbours. We do like kale, it's so productive, but my favourite brassica leaf is from sprout plants. : All the best - Steve

[@melanieerd7507]

I loved this, thank you!

[@whatigrownlallotment7498]

Hello Steve , last year I grew only nero di toscana kale, white fly is a big problem on that plot. Neem oil and netting helped. On my new plot I will probably grow it again together with the curly cale, and Ethiopean kale as an experiment. take care Joyce 💚👩🏻‍🌾🍀

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Joyce, if you've not already try soapy water spray for the whitefly : All the best - Steve

[@hibernianmelody6761]

Interesting video. Thank you for sharing

[@johnkay4701]

Hi, I found your video on kale most interesting, but I'm having difficulty in finding perennial kale (cuttings or seeds) at a reasonable price locally in Essex. I wonder whether you have ever tried either pollarding or coppicing your tall perennial kales before they get so tall. Most shrubs & trees seem to make new shoots & 'bush-up' after being cut-back quite hard. Regards, JohnnyK.

[@SteveRichards]

Hi John, the problem with Taunton Deane is that while the main stem is very thick and resilient, the side shoots that grow are very thin and spindly, they always break off in heavy winds. I prefer just taking cuttings and growing new plants. Also the tall plants get a lot less slug damage, I can under plant and they just look nice. In early spring I will have some cuttings to post out to a dozen people, watch out for the video : All the best - Steve

[@patientswim6888]

Hi Steve, Ive watched a lot of your videos over the last few weeks. You really are king chiefy when it comes to feeding yourself. Im always left wondering though... how in the world do you eat so much brassica leaf? What do you do with it? Many thanks

[@SteveRichards]

Remember we are feeding our whole family, so it’s not so much. We have a mix of kale, cabbage, Brussels and kalettes. They get used in many ways. Cabbage gets pickled, Brussels and kalettes get stir fried and steamed or roasted, kale and the other leaves steamed, smoothied or added to soup. We also have calabrese, cauliflower and PSB so that adds variety in many ways : all the best - Steve

[@gwenscoble6229]

Hi Steve, how do you protect your perennial kales from butterflies? I have brassica cages which I can move as I change my bed contents (pseudo rotation). I think I'd grow perennial kale in with my shrubs as they seem to be that sort of dimension. Your video has been very informative and I think the alternatives would be a better fit for me. Thanks Gwen

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Gwen, we don't protect them as they are too large, but we do spray with Bacillus Thuringiensis, which is organic and fairly effective. If they are attacked, which they always are a little, it doesn't matter so much as we are eating annual kale at that time of year, it's recovered by spring : All the best - Steve

[@Cel12495]

hi. i only have a window box. what dark green leafy veg can i grow.? i did rainbow chard last year which worked well. i was intending to grow perennial kale until i watched this! hope you are well

[@SteveRichards]

In summer something like dwarf green curly kale or black magic, in august sow claytonia and giant winter spinach, in spring lettuce

[@damienanderson7941]

Hi I got one of these plants but wasn't sure how it grew and now has fell over in the wind. So I was wondering if I cut the main stem is that game over for it or will carry on growing?

[@SteveRichards]

Not very well, the side shoots that form will be long and fragile and will break in the wind. Best take some new cuttings and support them so they don't break off in storms : All the best - Steve

[@revtastic]

So informative, thank you

[@SteveRichards]

Glad it was helpful and thanks for the feedback! : All the best - Steve

[@GardeningWithJohn]

Hi Steve. I'm not that keen on Kale, but I usually have a few veg at the same time with it and I grow it because its a good crop through winter. At the moment I've only grown 2 types of annual curly Kale (one dwarf) which Im still eating. I am thinking of trying some different varieties of annual Kale this year, preferably mild in taste and maybe Kalettes, which Ive heard good things about. Hope everything has been ok up there with these storms, its been bad pretty much everywhere, We've had a few mishaps on the allotments. All the best John

[@SteveRichards]

Hi John, I strongly recommend kalettes, they are a brilliant winter and early spring green, very prolific and mild, the leaves are good earlier in the season too. We've survived the storms ok, just a little fence damage and a few plants that needed emergency support : All the best - Steve

[@KanyiriGrows]

Here learning all about kale

[@Yin-Yang-444]

Great informative video. Love, Light, Peace & Gratitude.

[@rogueon391]

Hi Steve, I just purchased 3 cuttings of Taunton Deane and they have at last arrived. They are a little wilted, but I have followed the internet and planted these up in potting compost with a little vermiculite. How long until these root and when would I expect to see them brighten up? They are in a very warm south facing window for now.

[@SteveRichards]

Hi, how were they packaged? I'm sending some out (I send them for free) this week and I'm interested to see what other people do. They do take a while to root, 3-4 weeks, but they seem quite tough plants. I've had cuttings that looked quite poor, but by the end of the year they were 4 feet tall!

[@rogueon391]

Steve's Seaside Allotment. They arrived in a brown box. They had been double poly bagged and a piece of damp kitchen roll in the bag. The stems are firm but the leaves wilted. I paid £10 on eBay! So I’d like to get them to root if possible! I’d send you a pic but not sure I can do that on YT

[@rogueon391]

Ah that’s very kind of you! I’ll drop you a mail. Have subscribed... keep up the good work.

[@billiverschoore2466]

i find they do well just stuck into the ground, kept moist, nOt in direct sunlight while they are trying to root, because of the large evaporation area of the growing leaves. 🌳🕊💚

[@yeevita]

I clip my kales when they get too infested with aphids. They sleep during the super hot summer here, then when the weather starts to cool, they will start putting out beautiful leaves and branches. Several of my “annual” kales are tall and branched like your perennial kales. My kales keep going, even after they have gone to seed. The only time they die is if they do no survive through our summer. I will try to clip them less before summer, see if that helps their survival rate, though I have lots of kales because they survive very well. I also have lots of seeds, so I am not that worried about them. Buckets of new and old seeds.

[@SteveRichards]

Someone asked me what happened to an annual kale after it had gone to seed, I've never left mine in the ground that long as I always need it for the squash crop : All the best - Steve

[@yeevita]

Your garden is amazing! My husband is not a big fan of greens. It is just the two of us, so I mostly just grow whatever grows and generally leave them as long as I still have the space. There are definitely some plants that are annuals. For me, kales, brassicas, and beets are all perennials.

[@brewityourself3638]

For the perennial kales: Can you eat the whole leaf and stem? Which part of the leaf is inedible if any?

[@SteveRichards]

You can eat the whole leaf : all the best - Steve

[@brewityourself3638]

@@SteveRichards even the pink stem part of the leaf?

[@SteveRichards]

if it's tender enough you can eat it : All the best - Steve

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Hi Steve - love kale, have always grown annual but purchased a perennial cutting in Jan. looks to have taken really well so far.

[@SteveRichards]

Excellent, they do take a while to root : All the best - Steve

[@lynnmacro3044]

Can you grow most of the kales as perennial, given the space? It seems that they all have long main stems. I was wondering this on my allotment yesterday as they seem to have all started producing lots of shoots and I am happy to keep them in the same spot.

[@SteveRichards]

I don't believe so, although I've never tried it. I think the annual kales soon decline after they start flowering, so it's best to plan new ones next month. I never have the space to leave plants past flowering : All the best - Steve

[@lynnmacro3044]

Steve's Seaside Allotment thanks for your reply. They are starting to grow shoots, rather like sprouting broccoli (which I also have) in fact they are very similar so I’m going to eat the kale bud stems along with the broccoli as they are the same size. As I’m in effect taking the flowers off I’ll see what happens next ! If it works il let you know.

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Lynn, the kale rapini is wonderful, it's coming a bit early this year due to the mild weather. We eat it until about May time, by then we have new season kale plants available : All the best - Steve

[@lynnmacro3044]

Didn’t know they had a name, kale rapini? Thanks, glad I asked, now I know how long to keep them for.

[@failsworthboy]

Steve, I see you have a rechargeable pump from Bosch. Are they available in the shops or is it a product not yet available?

[@SteveRichards]

Hi, I don't actually have mine yet - it's in a container on the way here - but I had a play with one on my plot and was very impressed. This is the model www.howetools.co.uk/bosch-green-gardenpump-18-18v-submersible-drainage-pump. Unfortunately stock is likely to be limited because the factory in China is currently closed due to cornonavirus

[@failsworthboy]

Steve's Seaside Allotment thanks Steve, not cheap so you have done OK to get one.

[@SteveRichards]

Very useful for moving all of the winter rain water around! : All the best - Steve

[@neiler1970]

Hi Steve. Nice video your Kale collection is enviable. I’m trying to get a couple of perennial kales going but am having trouble. As you’ve spotted they go for wild money. I wonder if I might be able to beg some or maybe trade.

[@SteveRichards]

Where abouts are you?

[@neilbennett9281]

I will send you a reply via your Instagram.

[@Pete.Ty1]

👍