vegetables with a history
Kale
Kale is probably our favorite crop. It has been cultivated for over 2,000 years. By the 5th century B.C., continued preference for ever-larger leaved had led to the development of the vegetable we now know as kale. Kale is known botanically by the name Brassica oleraceavariety acephala which translates to mean "cabbage of the vegetable garden without a head." In much of Europe it was the most widely eaten green vegetable until the Middle Ages when cabbages became more popular. Kale was grown as a staple crop in the Scottish Islands due to it's extreme hardiness, and was given protection from the elements in purpose built Kale Yards. Indeed, almost every house had a kale yard and preserved kale in barrels of salt, similar to sauerkraut in Germany. It was also fed to livestock through the winter. Kale continued to be extremely important until potatoes came to the Islands towards the end of the 18th century. from http://www.veraveg.org/
Red russian brassica napus
Brassica napus (Ruso-Siberian Kales) is believed have come from a chance cross between a Brassica rapa variety (such as a turnip, mizuna, etc.) and a Brassica oleracea variety (European kales, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) However, our Red Russian may be just a little different.
Tim Peters of Peters Seed and Reseach did an experiment to retrace the evolution of B. napus. He first crossed a chinese cabage (B. rapa) with a European kale (B. oleracea). He did these crosses with a bud polination technique, which he says "lets the two species have more time to get to know each other". After the first cross the result was a beautiful Siberian kale (B. napus). then he crossed in black mustard (B. nigra). This resulted in the Red Russian type (B. napus?) with its distinct color and leaf shapes. So some of the B. napus species are two way mix-ups and some are three way mix-ups. This year, we are growing Tim Peters' strain of Red Russian Kale, called Winter Red.
Tim Peters of Peters Seed and Reseach did an experiment to retrace the evolution of B. napus. He first crossed a chinese cabage (B. rapa) with a European kale (B. oleracea). He did these crosses with a bud polination technique, which he says "lets the two species have more time to get to know each other". After the first cross the result was a beautiful Siberian kale (B. napus). then he crossed in black mustard (B. nigra). This resulted in the Red Russian type (B. napus?) with its distinct color and leaf shapes. So some of the B. napus species are two way mix-ups and some are three way mix-ups. This year, we are growing Tim Peters' strain of Red Russian Kale, called Winter Red.
Lacinato brassica oleracea
Lacinato Kale, also known as Dino Kale, Tuscan kale, Nero di Toscana, black kale, cavolo nero and black palm tree kale, is believed to have originated from the Tuscany region of Italy in the 18th century. It was introduced to the US by Renee Shepherd in the 1980s. The darkest kale, has a gorgeous blue-green color and a unique bumpy leaf surface. This year we are growing a superior strain, selected by master plant breeder Frank Morton for hardiness, vigor, flavor, and yield. www.wildgardenseed.com
Madeley Brassica oleracea
Madeley Kale is a variety that is new to us this year, and it has been a labor of love. It is an extremely vigorous, flat leaf heirloom kale from England. It is related to the ancient Thousand Headed kale and was given to The Seed Ambassadors Project by the Heritage Seed Library in England.Described as hardy, tender, and sweet, it is as wonderful as it is rare. Finding this Kale after we discovered it proved to be more than difficult. It is not commercially available. Period! Most heirloom and rare varieties have at least a few small companies offering seed, but not Madeley. After weeks of searching, contacting former growers, and almost giving up, I located a small supply of seed. I believe we will be one of the only growers of this extremely rare kale in the country. www.adaptiveseeds.com
Pentland brig Brassica oleracea
Pentland Brig is another variety we're growing for the first time. It is a rare variety in the US but fairly common in Europe. Pentland Brig was developed in England from a cross between two heirlooms, Curled Scotch Kale, a variety that is first mentioned in text in 1863, though it may be older, and Thousand headed kale, an ancient, vigorous bush-like kale grown primarily for forage. The Curled scotch is a great and popular kale, but for us it wasn't productive or large enough. The Thousand Headed Kale produces many beautiful leaves, but has more of a bush shape with many growing points. Putting them together creates an extremely vigorous kale with large leaves and desirable appearance, taste, and texture.