I think there are several aspects to consider with kale or any breeding project. Genetics, definitely… I think that’s the first consideration. But there are other things to consider. Like, how are you approaching the cultivation of the kale. How much space can you dedicate to the project. What are your selection criteria. How much seed are you saving and replanting. Even when we think we are discussing the same thing, we might not quite be. We might be approaching the same things very differently.
For myself, I like to start by considering the nature of the plant. In the case of Brassica oleracea it has a tremendous diversity of phenotypes and a very wide geographic range. It can be annual, biennial or even a short lived perennial. So potentially there’s a lot to work with.
As a wild plant, it tends to be a biennial weed that grows on disturbed ground. It produces a lot of seeds which tend to form dense mats of seedlings that crowd out competitors and conserve moisture. Natural selective pressure tends to thin those mats over time, and the survivors grow larger. The least fit individuals are naturally culled. However, even the culled individuals performed an important function for the collective at the early seedling mat stage. Therefore, for the species the culls were useful but expendable little soldiers.
Therefore, one of my goals is to have sufficient quantity of seed that I can scatter seed thickly, directly in the planting bed. I only start kale in containers or plant kale in rows when I only have a few seeds to work with. That’s a temporary expedient while I work on generating a larger quantity of seed. Another temporary expedient for first generation kale might be to use row cover over the winter.
A natural stand of kale would follow a disturbance such as fire, grazing, erosion, plowing, etc. The stand would last at least two years. Perhaps it might persist for a few more years but over time natural succession would begin to displace wild kale with perennials unless there were another disturbance to the ground.
As kale goes to seed and dies, many tall, dry stalks are left standing. These dead stalks are good habitat for pollinating and predatory insects and good fuel for low-intensity fires. Low-intensity fire is a disturbance that promotes the establishment of more kale seedlings. Fire clears the land, kills pathogens and the ash releases nutrients that kale appreciates. Where possible, I like to periodically burn my garden.
The kale stand might grow in association or proximity with other early-successional species; probably any number of local weeds and wildflowers. Such ecological communities tend to contain many pollinating and predatory insects such as wasps. Wasps would naturally keep populations of white cabbage butterflies in check. As kale plants mature and flower they attract the wasps that defend the kale. Even before kale matures, many wasps may be observed patrolling the kale patch in search of prey such as white cabbage butterfly caterpillars. I do everything I can to encourage the presence of multiple wasp species. This includes not being fussy about weeds, and leaving areas of the garden relatively undisturbed as habitat for wasps. I make friends with my wasps; they are important allies.
I started my kale project in Western Washington zone 8a where summer temperatures traditionally were in the 70s and winter temperatures get down to 10F. That’s actually a pretty ideal climate for kale. First generation I grew dozens of Red Russian, Blue Vates, Lacinato, and Green Prism kale starts together. Lacinato didn’t fare well over winter. Most of the rest survived the winter and went to seed the following year. I collected a gallon-size ziplock freezer bag worth of seed which I just mixed together.
Then I moved to Western Illinois zone 5b where summer temperatures are high 90s to low 100s, and winter temps down to teens below zero. Here I planted about 2/3 of my saved seed thickly scattered in multiple locations. Some in raised beds, most in a flat plot. During a hot, drought condition summer I watered only the raised beds which had hundreds of crowded seedlings. The flat plot contains thousands of crowded seedlings and these I left essentially undisturbed. I also have two Redbor kale individuals someone gifted me.
Interestingly, the untended flat plot has higher survival rates. The beds that I watered attracted isopods (aka roly-polies) which attacked and killed many seedlings. However the watered plants that survived depredation are larger in size than those in the untended patch.
The Red Russian phenotype dominates, but there are variations in color shading from red, green, and blue in the leaves. Almost all plants have red veins. There are two distinct stem phenotypes. One is taller and thinner; the other is short and thick. The short, thick-stemmed ones seem to be holding up better in the winter. Both phenotypes are small compared to most cultivated kale; not more than 2 feet with most in the untended patch about a foot tall.
Up until Jan 10 the winter has been mild, little snow, with a brief spell of 9F the lowest temperature but most low temps have been in the 20s, 30s or even 40s. Unusually warm. However we are now heading into a much colder regime with about 10 inches of snow and more in the forecast. Low temperatures are forecast to plummet into negative teens over the next week. I expect losses but am hopeful that with so many plants and with snow cover a fair number may survive.
Flavor of my kale patch is comparable to the Red Russian it resembles. The small plants don’t individually provide a lot of leaves but collectively they provide plenty for me. For now my main goals are low maintenance, summer and winter hardiness and successful seed production. Over time I may select for larger plants.
For this coming growing season I will be starting EFN’s “‘Homesteader’s Kaleidoscopic Perennial’ Kale Grex” Brassica oleracea var. ramosa in containers and planting out probably in a raised bed.
I’m also going to start EFN’s “Ultracross Collards” Brassica oleracea var. viridis in containers and planting out probably in a raised bed.
Starting in containers and planting into raised beds just makes it easier for me to tend a small number of new, high-value plants. If I can get them to overwinter and go to seed I plan to mix it all up with my kale seed and go with untended mass plantings.
It was also very popular at market though we don’t do that any more.
