Cabbage, kale and chard are 'super foods' for better health and luckily they're fairly easy to grow. These leafy greens are packed with folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, fiber and vitamins A, C and K (as per the health books).
Here's a little update on leafy veg I've grown from seed that grow well over Winter months. I like to use these in soups, stir fries, and casseroles. I live off homemade soup at this time of year!
Left: Cabbage January King. Seed sown in late June.
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| Above: Chard 'White Silver 2' was badly affected over the summer by black caterpillars, however, new growth is looking good and can go into soup! Seed sown April. |
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| Above: Kale 'Nero di Toscana'. Seed sown at the end of June, the kale has been slowly growing throughout Summer and Winter. The soil here is rather poor. |
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| Above: Kale Dwarf Green Curled, seed sown at the end of June; very hardy plant. These plants were battered by gales in their early growing period so I imagine this is where the crooked stems comes from? |
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| Above: Kohl Rabi 'Purple Vienna', grown from seed at the end of June. This plant looks so pretty in the garden I've just left it for ornamental purposes. Back to making soup ! |
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
You still have a fantastic selection there to keep you going. I must say I am rather jealous.
ReplyDeleteThese look very healthy - fantastic growth!
ReplyDeleteThe Winter brassicas are usually pretty slow-growing, but it's worth the wait I think. Have you got any Purple Sprouting Broccoli growing?
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, I have some broccoli growing that was given to me as little plug plants. They were planted in December and they are still very small. I think they are called Red Arrow. I'm not sure they're going to amount to anything.
DeleteWe do not see these greens here. Too hot, I would imagine. I do grow cabbages both red and green and broccoli, bit they get so infested with the cabbage worms I sometimes wonder if it is worth it. I will be looking into kale, though to see if we grow here.
ReplyDeleteI really envy all your different cabbages and kales, so healthy. My garden should be bigger to grow more vegetables, digging a piece of the lawn again?
ReplyDeleteYour plants look good and healthy. Enjoy your soup!
ReplyDeleteYou have so many wonderful brassicas. look so tender, so fresh.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly won't need vitamin supplements.
ReplyDeleteThey all look healthy.My kales and psb got attacked by cabbage whites in the summer despite netting,but the uncovered chard stood up well (the caterpillars may have been boggled by the enormous quantity).
ReplyDeleteBrassicas then recovered but are looking rather straggly now.Possible too much manure which has produced long unstable stems ,or just maybe planted too close together? The mild weather means that the psb is sprouting much earlier so I might be pulling the plants up much sooner this year.