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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 26, 2023 18:43:29 GMT -6
They look great. Kales are hearty. Right now I just water them a bit while the bugs demolish them. It won’t kill them. I don’t like kales taste in summer but wait until the first light frosts to show up. That’s when they are really tasty especially the red Russian kale which is tender and smooth tasting. They make good kale chips any time of the year.
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Kale
Jun 26, 2023 19:45:04 GMT -6
Post by woodeye on Jun 26, 2023 19:45:04 GMT -6
Thank you, FrostyTurnip. The info is much appreciated, I will do my best to keep them alive this summer...👍
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jun 26, 2023 21:57:00 GMT -6
Mmm. Those are looking fantastic, Woodeye. Kale obviously likes your efforts to kill it. The leaves do sweeten up with frost, but I love kale at any time. If I had those plants in my garden, I’d be cutting the outer leaves, rinsing them just to let the folds hold water, chopping coarsely, and sauteing them in a little oil with ground mustard mixed in, and seasoning them with salt, red peppers flakes, and fresh minced garlic at the end. The curls in the kale hold just enough water that it can steam a bit in the covered pan if it needs to. I wouldn’t be able to wait till fall, especially because I know that the cabbage worms would take mine out too soon. [My kale is gone, and the worms had more of it than I did. Sad.]
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Kale
Jun 27, 2023 4:05:00 GMT -6
Post by woodeye on Jun 27, 2023 4:05:00 GMT -6
Thank You, chrysanthemum. I will keep a closer eye on them for worm damage and that's also a good idea to use a try a bit of it now, I admit I'd like to have an idea of how it tastes. I heard jokes about kale on TV all my life seems like, so I'm anxious to test it because of that too...😉
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Post by amyinowasso on Jun 27, 2023 5:48:38 GMT -6
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Kale
Jun 27, 2023 8:51:15 GMT -6
Post by woodeye on Jun 27, 2023 8:51:15 GMT -6
Thank you, amyinowasso. I'll check out the link. As a kale newbie, any information I can glean will help tremendously...
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Post by macmex on Jun 27, 2023 9:30:58 GMT -6
My wife has a nice bed of kale in a straw bale bed. She's been freeze drying it with a bit of oil and salt on it. Oh my goodness, that sure makes for some delicious eating!
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Post by woodeye on Jun 27, 2023 10:34:40 GMT -6
That's a great idea too, macmex. I've been pretty much astonished at how fast the kale plants grow, I see lots more of it in my future for next year.
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jun 27, 2023 18:13:42 GMT -6
Those kale plants will taunt and torture the deer all winter long when everything else is dead or in hybernation. Jus sayin . . .
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Post by woodeye on Jun 27, 2023 19:01:18 GMT -6
Those kale plants will taunt and torture the deer all winter long when everything else is dead or in hybernation. Jus sayin . . . Yay! Watching the deer sweating icicles because they can't get inside the Iron Curtain will even make the winter temperatures a tad bit more tolerable...😉
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Post by macmex on Jul 20, 2023 9:53:22 GMT -6
Here's a question for someone more experienced than myself.
Both grasshoppers AND blister beetles attacked our kale. I've been watering it but wonder if I should just pull it up. What do you think?
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jul 20, 2023 14:22:28 GMT -6
It’ll come back if you’re looking to save seed next year. But it’s not too late for new starts to harvest mid winter.
When they’re rooted in that well, it’s hard for me to let go, too.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 20, 2023 15:10:45 GMT -6
I think a big questions is whether the insect pressure is gone or not or whether you could protect the plants with tulle or something. The kale can recover in the right conditions, but there isn’t much point to the water it would require if you can’t keep the insects from eating it right off again. I had to make a similar decision earlier in the year because of cabbage moth caterpillars. I could see new growth on the kale, but the caterpillar pressure was still there. I opted for pulling it up. Had I been staying in Texas, I would have started a fall crop inside for protection against the caterpillars.
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Post by amyinowasso on Jul 21, 2023 8:30:02 GMT -6
I think of kale as a cool season crop. It gets pretty tough in heat. On the other hand I have a few seeds for perennial kale, which grows for 2 or 3 years and then you make a cutting for a new plant, since it rarely sets seed. We HAVE left kale to grow through summer and continued to eat it, but I don't count on it. A neglected kale bed is where I observed wasps eating cabbage worms. That bed now has milkweed in it and I wonder if they're the reason I've seen no butterfly caterpillars.
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