Kale 'Red Russian'

The Russo-Siberian Kales are mostly native to Northern Europe and Northern Asia, though in the past century they have been shuffled back and forth across the globe and many others have been developed from these lines.
Unlike European Kale, which is classified as Brassica oleracea, the Russo-Siberian Kales are classifield as Brassica napus. These kales are typically more tender and have a milder flavour than the European kales. The young leaves are better for salad use, the mature leaves are always superb as a cooked vegetable and most varieties are great for use for their springtime sprouts.
They perform best in cool weather but many varieties of napus kales also tolerate hot weather. It is widely known that the flavour sweetens dramatically after first frost.

Originally from Siberia and brought to Canada by Russian Traders in 1885, Kale 'Red Russian' is the most well known variety of the Russo-Siberian Kales. It was reintroduced by Canadian herbalist Betty Jacobs in 1977. Its all-round qualities have established it as the mainstay, favorite winter kale.
'Red Russian' is one of the tenderest kales available and a sweeter taste than most traditional varieties. With deeply cut, slate green oak-like leaves, the veins and stems have an unusual deep purple venation, a colouring that intensifies as winter approaches.

'Red Russian' is delicious raw in salads and excellent when used in stir-frying. It will grow to baby leaf in only 25 days, add to lettuces to make your own mesclun mix, or left to grow it will mature in around 50 days. The tender leaves can provide an intense addition to salads, particularly when combined with a few strongly flavoured ingredients such as dry roasted peanuts, tamari-roasted almonds, or red pepper flakes.
As a 'cut and come again' crop you can start removing leaves when the plant is just 5cm high. The new leaves will continuously form. Alternatively wait till October before you start removing tender leaves from the top of the plant. Once the main crown has been harvested side shoots will form which will be ready to harvest from February to May. Pick shoots that are 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) long and still young. Nutritionists label kale as a super-food, it has six times more calcium than broccoli and spinach and high levels of antioxidants and vitamins A, C and K.

Kale it is easy to grow throughout the winter months, plants grow 45 to 90cm (18 to 36in) tall. The blue-grey, toothed edged leaves are very attractive and very useful in potagers. This hardy crop can provide nutritious leaves even in the depths of winter. Mature plants survive to -12°C (10°F) or below. Mark the site so you can find the fresh greens under the snow.

Prepare the site:
There is an ideal soil and site for Kale but rest assured it will grow in almost all conditions, even part shade. It will produce a good crop provided that the drainage is satisfactory. For the ultimate crop, grow in full sun in a soil that was enriched with compost or manure the previous season.
As the seedlings are not transplanted until June or July, it is usual to use land which has recently been vacated by peas, early potatoes or other early summer crops. Kale benefits from additional feedings of liquid fertilizer during the growing season; the flavour is improved if the plants grow quickly.

Sowing: Sow in spring and autumn
Sow the seeds in a seed bed from April onwards. The timing is not crucial because kales will germinate in temperatures as low as 5°C (42°F) and as high as 35°C (95°F). That's an enormous range for any vegetable. The trick is to time the planting so the kale matures in cold weather.
Kale does not tolerate heat, so direct seed or transplant kale so that it comes to harvest before day time temperatures exceed 80°F.
Sow kale under cover in autumn for baby leaves after four to six weeks, or directly outdoors for an over-wintering crop.

Sow the seeds about 1.5cm (½in) deep in rows which are 22cm (9in) apart. Germination will take about 10 days. When the plant is about 22cm (9in) high and four leaves have developed (about 6 -8 weeks after sowing) transplant them to their final positions.
They should be planted slightly deeper than they grew in the seed bed. Spacings are 45cm (18in) apart with rows the same distance apart. Water the young plants in dry weather.

Cultivation:
Almost no care is required because these are one of the strongest and most disease resistant of all vegetables. Remove yellowing leaves which may appear round the base. Keep the weeds under control with regular hoeing. As winter approaches earth up plants to protect against frost and wind rock. Mulch thickly when the ground freezes and you can harvest again in early spring.

Harvest: 25 days baby-leaf, 50 to 60 days mature from transplant
Wait until the plants are touched by a frost to sweeten the taste. When the leaves have experienced a cold snap, they wrinkle and curl and strengthen greatly, creating a more satisfying, textural leaf. Some of the tastiest kale is harvested under a foot of snow!
Pluck individual leaves as you need them; one or two leaves for each serving. Avoid cutting the developing bud at the centre of each plant.

Companion Planting:
Beets, Celery, Cucumbers, Dill, Garlic, Hyssop, Lettuce, Mint, Nasturtium, Onions, Potatoes, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Swiss chard.

Remember!
Rotate your crops, planting brassicas, of any kinds, in the same ground more often than once every four years runs the risk of club root infestation and once you have it, the ground is useless for up to a decade. Don't take needless chances, even with catch crops of radishes.
Because Kale eats up a lot of growing space if planted in a bed with the other brassicas, you may prefer to grow kale in a bucket or other generous planter, separate from your main crops. The soil can then be easily replaced annually, with old soil being dumped far from any growing area.

Culinary Use:
There are many recipes available featuring this neglected but toothsome cabbage in soups, stews and pasta and even roasted. Kale blends well with pork, pulses and beans. Break the leaves from the stalk, and trim away the tough centre stalk. Wash, then shred or chop. Never overcook kale or it will turn bitter.
Kale is most commonly boiled, for whole leaves, rinse, then put them in the pan without shaking the water off, cover, then cook for up to two minutes, until wilted; drain thoroughly.
For chopped or shredded leaves, put in a pan of water 1cm deep with a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil and simmer up to 5 minutes, until wilted; drain thoroughly.
Pan fry. Soften chopped onion in butter for a few minutes, tear the soft green bits of the kale off the stalks, wash them and chuck it into the pan with a lid - it should be cooked in a few minutes. The butter and onion take out any bitterness.
In Nigella Bites, kale features as a key ingredient in 'a Spanish still life of a supper': a paprika-sprinkled chicken breast lies on a bed of boiled kale, and beneath that is a layer of cannellini beans mixed with fried chopped chorizo. Nigella recommends tearing the kale roughly into pieces, boiling it in salted water for five minutes and then draining it.
Leading vegetarian food writer Rose Elliot goes along with this. "You really need to take the thick stems off first though and only when you're sure it's tender (you should be able to pierce the kale with a knifepoint) drain it. Then toss it with olive oil or butter." Don't throw the water away, but use it in a nutritious soup. "Have kale every day," urges Elliot. "It's a wonderful food."

Origin:
With their loose leaves, Kale are the most primitive members of the cabbage family and considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. Their origins are in the eastern Mediterranean area and Asia Minor. Kales have been food crops since about 2000 B.C. In Europe, kale was the most common green vegetable until the end of the Middle Ages.
Presently, the species Brassica napus is thought to have originated from a chance hybridisation between Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea.
Originally from Siberia and brought to Canada by Russian Traders in 1885, 'Red Russian' was reintroduced by Canadian herbalist Betty Jacobs in 1977. With her husband, Betty E. M. Jacobs started Canada's first commercial Herb Farm in 1965, because of this, this variety is also known as 'Canadian Broccoli'.

Classification:
Most species of European kale are known botanically as Brassica oleracea variety acephala, which translates to mean 'cabbage of the vegetable garden without a head.' (Cabbage are classified as Brassica oleracea variety capitata, which translates to 'cabbage of the vegetable garden with a head.')
However, Siberian Kale, also known as Russo-Siberian Kale are classified as Brassica napus ssp. pabularis (or pabularia), these are grown for their leaves that may resemble those of the European kales (B. oleracea).
Being variable in its forms, Brassica napus is divided into three groups or subspecies:

• The swede, or rutabaga is ssp. napobrassica (or rapifera), they are grown for grown for their swollen stems/roots that resemble turnips (Brassica rapa).
• Russo-Siberian kales are ssp. pabularis (or pabularia) and are grown for their leaves that may resemble those of the European kales (B. oleracea).
• Winter rape and canola are ssp. oleifera and are grown for their edible leaves, livestock forage, or for the oil rich seed.

Nomenclature:
The genus name Brassica is Pliny’s name for several cabbage-like plants.
The species name derives from the Latin napus, via Old English næp and Old Norse næpa.
The meaning of the Latin napus which is usually said to mean 'turnip', however, this has been debated by those who believe that the Latin for 'turnip' was rapum. Some authorities say that napus refers to 'rape or colza' while others translate it as 'swede' Others consider that napus primarily means turnip. Though it should be remembered that one meaning does not, of couse exclude its having other meanings as well.
Russo-Siberian kales are a sub species, named pabularis, from the Latin pabularius meaning 'of or belonging to fodder or pasture'.

The common name of Kale is a Scottish word derived from coles (Greek) or caulis (Roman), terms that refer to the whole cabbage-like group of plants. The German word kohl has the same origin.
Kale is also called borecole, the word comes from the Dutch word ‘boerenkool’. Boer meaning farmer or peasant and ‘kool’ (cole) meaning cabbage.
Although kale varies in colour from pale yellowish to deep green through deep steely blue to purplish red and almost black, it is usually classified by the leaf form and texture. The blue-green colour of some varieties is associated with greater cold tolerance.
European Scotch types have very curled and wrinkled leaves, Russian (or Siberian) types are almost flat with finely divided edges, while Italian heirloom ‘Lacinato’ is in a class of its own. Japanese kale, also known as Ornamental Brassicas is primarily used for decorative or ornamental purposes.