|
Post by MikeH on Apr 23, 2014 12:51:27 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by starry on Apr 24, 2014 11:39:12 GMT -5
Very cool. The 'western front' kale I planted last summer is doing the same for me. We're zone 6a [EDITED] where I live and had good snow cover as well and low temps this year .
|
|
|
Post by MikeH on Apr 25, 2014 2:56:52 GMT -5
Are you planning to save seed? If I can save some seed, are you interested in trading some seed to see if we can cross them?
|
|
|
Post by starry on Apr 25, 2014 6:25:40 GMT -5
Definitely...I'll save any seed that I can and send some to you. I also have a bunch of 'Western Front' seed leftover from last year plus some 'Pentland Brig' (which is purported to show signs of perennial regrowth as well) that I can send you. PM me your address and I'll get them off to you next week.
|
|
|
Post by MikeH on Apr 25, 2014 11:34:51 GMT -5
Excellent although we may be getting misguidedly excited about the hardiness that we are seeing. I was talking to someone today who does excavation work for Ontario Hydro and he happened to mention that with the ice cover this year the ground never froze like it usually does. He set the frost was very shallow this year. Hhhhhmmmmmm. That might be a factor in these kale overwintering. Nonetheless, it's still worth harvesting seed from those that survived.
Regards, Mike
|
|
|
Post by starry on Apr 25, 2014 12:26:53 GMT -5
Good point. Worth a try though for sure Cheers, Shane
|
|
|
Post by robertb on Apr 26, 2014 5:26:19 GMT -5
If you get any seed I'd be interested, as whatever it does in your climate, it might well be completely hardy in mine. I haven't got round to trying Western Front yet; I'll make it a priority for next year, but I don't have any Beedy's Camden Kale.
|
|
|
Post by Graham on Apr 28, 2014 5:09:49 GMT -5
'Western Front' didn't perennialize for me in Wales. I think it may need to be killed back in winter to encourage it to revert to it's juvenile state. In milder climates it appears to be biannual, or at least that's the impression I get. It tended to mildew badly in our wet Welsh climate to, so it didn't prove to be very useful here in general.
As for 'Pentland Brig', I've had plants that were weekly perennial but most are biannual. The perennial ones survived for 3 or 4 years, but they were pretty straggly looking once they'd flowered and weren't really worth keeping going.
I'll be watching Beedy's Camden Kale with interest though. I'm always looking for new kales to bring into the mix.
|
|
|
Post by starry on Apr 28, 2014 7:14:25 GMT -5
I was wondering if what I'm seeing with the Western Front is just it showing biannual or biennial traits. Have to wait till next spring to rule on that one.
Apparently I'm in zone 6a not 5b (been reading the wrong maps) but we did get down to -27C [EDITED] this winter with a foot or so [EDITED] of snow cover.
|
|
|
Post by philagardener on Apr 28, 2014 19:40:16 GMT -5
Beedy's Camden didn't make it through this past winter for me outside of Philadelphia PA. It looked great going into December but after we hit -20C (-5F) several times I lost the lot.
|
|
|
Post by MikeH on Apr 29, 2014 2:01:40 GMT -5
Beedy's Camden didn't make it through this past winter for me outside of Philadelphia PA. It looked great going into December but after we hit -20C (-5F) several times I lost the lot. Now I'm really beginning to think that my comment up thread about the ice layer preventing keeping the soil warmer than usual might have merit. We saw temps as low as -28°C and averaged -15°C from December 1 through Feb 28. This fall I think I'll mulch one row very heavily and leave the other unprotected just to see how they handle a normal winter, whatever that is.
|
|
|
Post by starry on Apr 29, 2014 7:14:16 GMT -5
Apr 29, 2014 3:01:40 GMT -4 MikeH said: "This fall I think I'll mulch one row very heavily and leave the other unprotected just to see how they handle a normal winter, whatever that is. "
Good experiment...I'll do the same with the Western Front.
|
|
|
Post by MikeH on May 7, 2014 2:23:36 GMT -5
Definitely...I'll save any seed that I can and send some to you. I also have a bunch of 'Western Front' seed leftover from last year plus some 'Pentland Brig' (which is purported to show signs of perennial regrowth as well) that I can send you. PM me your address and I'll get them off to you next week. Seeds arrived. Thank you.
|
|
|
Post by starry on May 7, 2014 7:29:00 GMT -5
No problem
|
|
|
Post by MikeH on Aug 6, 2014 8:58:35 GMT -5
Anyone need seed? I have a bountiful plenty.
|
|