Walking Stick Kale

Brassica oleracea longata 

Story: 

Walking Stick Kale can commonly grow up to 2m and even 3m over period of two years. This seed was given to us by an anonymous grower so we don't have much information about it - if it was you please get in touch so we can give thanks and credit! There is a heritage of growing kales of this type in the Channel Islands but we are unsure of this exact lineage. Portugal and the canaries also have similar varieties so we welcome feedback on this variety! On the channel islands the long stalks are cured and used as walking sticks, fence hurdles and even rafters for outbuildings!

The picture here is from a stock photo courtesy of Sherwin Carlquist and the result may look different, please take lots of pictures to send back to us

When to sow: From late February indoors in modules with transplanting into final positions in June - to April on for direct sowing in their final growing positions. 

Requirements: Nutrient-rich soil, regular watering, and a lot of sun. Some support as they age.

When to harvest for food: Harvest leaves form the edges as needed allowing the centre to remain growing to create the characteristic 'palm style' growth, you can also chop entire heads of the plant to cook with or to use as animal fodder if you are not concerned with the plants continued growth - generally kales of this type are used as a cooking green or animal feed rather than raw in salads.

When to harvest for seed saving: Allow the florets to grow and flower fully, when they will form green seed pods which you will allow to dry on the plant - cutting them once they contain dark brown to black seeds that are loose and can be rattled around the pods, then cut and them to dry fully indoors before breaking the pods to extract the kale seeds.

Seed contributors: Unknown donation! Please contact us if it was you

Isolation Needed: Yes

Number of plants to save seeds from: An absolute minimum of twenty brassica plants is needed to maintain good genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding having negative impacts on the plants, eighty to a hundred plants is much more desirable.

Pollination: Insect pollinated and growing this seed crop is a great support to local pollinators.  

How to send seed back: Please label all seed with variety, type, date and your contact. If you didn't get a chance to fill out our online data collection form, you can also send us a few lines about how it grew for you/flavour etc. Please aim to send back 1 tablespoon of dried seed or more so that we can continue to share with network members. Send to: The Seed Saving Network, Omved Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, N6 5JF.

Please remember, if you’re an individual grower you can order up to 4 packets of seeds. If you order more than this, you will receive just three packs to begin with. This is to ensure we get plenty of data in return and to keep our stocks sustainable for years to come.* 

*Community groups and Experienced Growers can order larger quantities, please email us if this is the case.

If an item is out of stock we will send a close alternative.