themagnoliatreeblog

I like growing kale, particularly to add to soup, but it is a lovely vegetable to eat whichever way you want. Kale sold in supermarkets is very rough cut and tough, and lacks flavour, so every year I battle with slugs, snails and caterpillars to grow it. I normally grow dwarf curly kale, then I discovered Nero, a very tasty black kale. This year I am adding an ornamental kale which has some lovely shades of pink and green.

I quite like the idea of growing attractive looking vegetables, probably because I don’t have the space for many flowers, I expect vegetables to work twice as hard.

Chinese kale may not be outstanding colour-wise but with other plantings, I am sure the blue-grey leaves will complement other plants.

Kale is highly nutritious and none knew it better than the monks of a nearby monastery as mentioned in the following rhyme:

“The Friars of Fail drank berry-brown ale,
The best that ever was tasted,
The Monks of Melrose made gude kael,
On Fridays, when they fasted.”

High in nutrients, antioxidants, calcium, vitamins K and C as well as iron, it’s a worthy addition to the vegetable garden. At least the slugs, snails and caterpillars think so too.

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