Here are the Asian greens for the fall. There are 4 different sowings beginning about the 7th of August. I am now ready to transplant the oldest of the bok choy. Maruba santoh & choy sum were the latest but should make enuf growth soon to be thinned & transplanted further along in the same bed.

The bed, available? That's the spud bed & I have now worked my way completely thru it, amending the ground behind me as I've dug the potatoes.

Steve :o)

I grew kale for the first time last season, planting a row of Russian red. They got about a foot high, and we found that they tasted much better in the fall after several frosts.

Then we noticed that they were growing, even in January, however slowly. The small new leaves tasted wonderful, even though there weren't very many.

Then the deer discovered the row, and ate them down to nubs the size of a thumb.

Then April rolled around, and I had my guy build a raised bed were the row had been, We used a bobcat and the incredibly rich pond soil, about a foot thick. This smothering most of the row, but a few were just barely covered.

And up they came, grew to 3 feet high with the flower stalks, almost a bush, by the middle of June.

So I saved a lot of seed, pulled them out, by the wheel barrow, needing the space for squash. I broke off the roots of two plants, and they grew back.

Now about 3 feet high, no flower stalk, just covered in beautiful leaves, which we've been using to make salads all summer long.

Kale salad: take kale leaves, wash off the dirt, pull out the stem leaving the tender bits, let dry, then cut finely into shreds. Mix with shredded onion, dried tomato, and a vinaigrette dressing, let sit for a few hours at room temp. to 'marinate'. The kale turns dark green. Then eat.

I was told not all that long ago about "kale salad" and I just figured the guy was mistaken - didn't role my eyes or anything. At least, I tried not to. Kale is tuff . . .

The last couple of days, I've learned a few things: One is that David eats kale salad! And, David marinates the kale!! You know, that makes sense to me.

Okay, what else did I learn? I learned that these Russian and Siberian kales are Brassica napus. They are NOT Brassica oleracea like Scotch kale! So, they are not closely related to cabbage and collards (and Portuguese kale: Tronchuda Beira). In fact, they are more closely related to the rutabaga!

Having looong eaten Scotch kale and never eaten one of the Russian/Siberian kales - I am a little in the dark about them. Here, I had thought I'd taken a step beyond the pale with Tronchuda Beira . . .

Steve

The Portuguese kale made some growth.

Then, the new, tender leaves were harvested!

Now, the plants once again look like the picture in the 1st post . . . (Sorry, I missed a chance to get a new picture. :o(

The harvesting of the leaves must be at about 14 day intervals thru the summer. There are several plants. They make quite large leaves that are very tasty!

Steve

Most of the serious "fails" in my 2013 garden were the result of weather or pests, Ooooo, I hate that rabbit!!! This one . . . I didn't notice that it wasn't on my seed order!

Had a mid-summer supply order so I asked for some seed. Just playing it safe:

With her recent kale thread, Jali reminded me of this topic. I don't think she was around last year when I was coming to really appreciate Portuguese kale. In 2013, I decided I'd try Senposai again since I had seed for it and it looks similar to Portuguese kale. Darn stuff, I had one good year harvesting the flower buds out of 3 years growing Senposai. I'm looking forward to having this kale back in my 2014 garden!

Steve

Beautifully healthy plants. I guess I have to try some different types. The whole kale frenzy just passes me by because I gave it a shot several years ago and I simply wasn't impressed with the taste. I don't even recall what kind I tried. I love greens, but kale never caught on with my taste buds, so I grow the ornamental kales and delight in their beauty.