06 March 2013

kale seeds







Last year, I showed you my bolting kale and told you my plans to save seeds for replanting. I did so, very unscientifically. I cut all the kale plants last summer once the seed pods were starting to dry, bundled them up and wrapped them in an old sheet (to collect any falling seeds), then stuck them in the shed for the winter. 

We prepped the gardens this past weekend, and for fun, I pulled out the kale bundle to see what would happen. I remembered seeing that wrapping and whacking was an efficient method of getting the seeds from their pods, so I tried it. It worked. I opened up the bundle and hand-crushed the remaining intact pods. I ended up with thousands of seeds. I planted plenty in the garden and brought the rest inside. 

I could plant a whole farm full of kale. 

Here's one of last year's plants, getting ready to bolt and produce more seeds this spring. 

So generous, this kale. Who wants some seeds?