Plant Highlight - Kosmic Kale - A Perennial Kale!

in #naturalmedicine4 years ago (edited)

kosmickale.jpg

Imagine planting your kale once and never having to plant it again. While most kale are biennials meaning they grow for one year and then flower and set seed before dying the next there is a relatively new type that is actually a perennial meaning it lives for longer than 2 years.

This is the kosmic kale and it's a great perennial vegetable to add to your garden.

If you follow me on here and on my blog you know that I'm big about perennial vegetables including wild native vegetables. Both groups of vegetables provide great benefits to your garden and the wildlife living on your wild homestead.

But sometimes it can be a challenge to know how to use perennial vegetables. This is especially true with the wild native vegetables. Not only do you need to learn how to grow them but you also need to learn how to cook them and how to identify them.

Incorporating a brand new plant into your meals and garden is not always easy!

This is one reason I really like kosmic kale.

It really is just another kale plant that is also a perennial vegetable. Taste wise it's no different than other kale and while it has a very ornamental look to it you can still easily recognize it as a kale.

Kosmic kale does not set flowers and is instead grown by root cuttings. This means there is very little if any genetic diversity but as long as you are not only growing kosmic kale this should not be a problem.

Since it won't produce seeds you also don't have to worry about it spreading on its own making it an easy addition to the garden.

If you are looking for a perennial vegetable to try out and you already grow kale then kosmic kale is a great plant to try. Now that mine are established I plan to stop growing regular kale and instead just rely on my kosmic kale.

So are you interested in growing kosmic kale? Here are some basic information about this fantastic kale to help you decide if it would be a good fit for your garden (taken from One Green World):

Latin Name: Brassica spp.
Site and Soil: Kosmic Kale likes 1/2 day to full sun and well-drained soil.
Rootstock Description: Kosmic Kale is self rooted
Pollination Requirements: None
Hardiness: Kosmic Kale is hardy to about 10F, possibly lower once established
Bearing Age: Year of planting
Size at Maturity: 2 ft x 4 ft
Bloom Time: None
Pests & Diseases: Susceptible to common brassica pests, such as whitefly and aphids
USDA Zone: 8

Thank you for reading and if you want to learn more about perennial vegetables and wild native vegetables please check out these 2 blog posts:

Are you growing any perennial brassicas (brocolli, kale, collards, etc.)? Right now I'm growing kosmic kale and tree collards but I'm always interested in learning more about these perennial vegetables. Please leave a comment sharing any experience you have with these great vegetables!

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Is that VIRAGATED!!?? This is so cool!! I wonder how it would do in the heat.... any idea?

Yup! :) I really like the look of it. Some sites put its upper range as USDA zone 10. So I think it can handle some heat, could plant it in semi-shade to help it deal with the heat. I have some kale growing in mostly shady conditions and they are slower but still doing great.

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