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Back over there <<<--- pointing at other forum<<<<--- , we started discussing Kale... so I went and got some seeds and planted it about beg of Feb... oh my we have so much Kale! It has done great!! We used palm frond chippings over the soil, and spread coffee grounds around the plot to keep bugs out... Thank you to whoever suggested planting it!
We cut the leaves, take out the bones, and steam it a bit, and then saute it with onions, garlic and butter and potatoes (recipe from our friend who is Dutch!)....
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Kale is an attractive relative of collard greens, which also do well here. Back in Georgia, Kale was a cool weather crop, so we haven't tried it here yet. Thanks for the tip, Cat. We will give it a go. Where did you get the seed?
Cheers,
Jerry
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Have there been any issues with cabbage butterflies? Sometimes they lay eggs on the leaves and then there are little green caterpillars who like kale as much as we do. About five years ago we had cabbage butterflies in such quantities they looked like white clouds. That was a hard year for leafy vegetables. Does the coffee help against cabbage butterflies do you think? It would probably help against slugs?
The collard plants will last for quite a few years if just the leaves are eaten and the middle stem of the plant is left to grow. Do you harvest your kale as leaves or harvest the enitre top of the plant?
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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great idea on chipping the palm fronds, how do you go about doing that - do you have a chipper?
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quote:
Have there been any issues with cabbage butterflies? .....Does the coffee help against cabbage butterflies do you think? It would probably help against slugs?
The collard plants will last for quite a few years if just the leaves are eaten and the middle stem of the plant is left to grow. Do you harvest your kale as leaves or harvest the enitre top of the plant?
When we harvested we cut all but one leaf.... it seems to work well that way. Someone told us the coffee grounds would and did keep the slugs away. No cabbage butteeflies (yet). Maybe they havent discovered our garden yet.
The palm frond chipping we got when the VHHA did the fronds over hanging our streets... it ended up in a pile on the empty lot next door so we are using them. The chipping is done by a guy named Rich who charged them about $150/for a day or 1/2 day (and we gave him $20 bucks to do about 2-3 dozen fronds of ours.... made quick work of all the chippings.
