This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Super Food - Kale

One of the top 10 super foods(*) for better health includes leafy greens like kale, collards, chard and spinach. In my opinion kale is one of the easiest and versatile vegetables to grow. This year I've grown three types of kale:

 -Kale Nero di Toscana
-Kale Curly Scarlet
-Kale Dwarf Green Curled
Pictured is Dwarf Green Curled Kale. It doesn't grow as tall as the other types of kale. Kale withstands frost and snow - a great Winter vegetable!
Above & Below: Dwarf Curly Kale goes from garden to slow cooker for vegetable soup.
Kale is also great in stir fry and young baby kale leaves can be eaten raw in salads.
(*) Top 10 Super Foods is based on an article published by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, USA, 2012.

 After a bit of a break in the New Year from blogging, I'm hoping to get back into the routine of reading blogs, taking regular photos of my garden progress, and updating my blog regularly. At times I think, 'where does the time go!' My goals for 2014 include:

 1. Begin to research and grow heritage vegetables (at the community garden site);
2. Continue to grow from seed (flowers and veg);
3. Try something new e.g. veg / flowers I've never grown before;
3. Continue to learn and share growing tips and experiences with others.

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
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5 comments:

  1. Egretta Wells blog15 January 2014 at 13:16

    Kale is delicious in many ways. Mom used to cook Kale and serve it with a little vinegar to drizzle over it and always we ate it with corn muffins or corn bread sticks.Your soup looks both delicious and healthy, especially on a cold winter's day. It is turning cold here...too bad I don't have a dish of that good looking soup! Happy gardening in 2014, Kelli.

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  2. Mark Willis15 January 2014 at 23:03

    For some reason Jane doesn't like Kale (the curly type), although she like all the other brassicas, so I don't grow kale. The Cavolo Nero type is a firm favourite though.
    I've just noticed the fatal flaw in your 2014 goals - you have two number 3s! :)

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  3. Sue Garrett16 January 2014 at 01:29

    I'm afraid that I'm not really a kale fan,

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  4. Jo@awholeplotoflove16 January 2014 at 02:39

    I grew some 2012 for 2013 but this years was ravaged by caterpillars so unfortunately none for me this year. I like Kale & will certainly be growing some again, well protected of course.

    ReplyDelete
  5. elaine 18 January 2014 at 10:42

    It's the time of year when there isn't always a lot to blog about - but it won't be long before we get going again.

    ReplyDelete

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