Types, description and cultivation of varieties of kale cabbage
Kale is a wild cabbage. This is a leafy version of the crop that does not form a head of cabbage, but looks more like a giant curly salad. Depending on the variety, kale collard has a different color of leaves from light green to bright purple. Moreover, the final brightest and most saturated color acquires after frost.
Description
In America and England, this cabbage is called "Russian red", although in Russia this type is not very common and is often used as a decorative one for decorating gardens, creating park compositions, due to the variety of colors. Recently, Cale, along with other types of similar cabbage, is gaining popularity, especially among adherents of a healthy lifestyle.
Kale cabbage contains a large amount of various trace elements that our body needs. It contains:
- Copper;
- Zinc;
- Iron;
- Selenium;
- Sodium;
- Magnesium;
- Phosphorus;
- potassium in large quantities;
- easily assimilated calcium;
- vitamins B1, B2, C, E, K, PP and active vitamin C.
The content of Retinol (vitamin A) in an average portion exceeds the daily requirement for a person by 2 times, but this does not create an excess of this vitamin, because it is present in the form of beta-carotene. In fact, this unique vegetable contains only 9 essential and 18 nonessential amino acids.
In terms of protein content, collard greens can replace meat, therefore it deserves special attention among vegetarians. Kale is a supplier of Omega-3 fatty acids that our body needs. Scientists have identified antibacterial effects, the ability to destroy cancer cells, and the ability to effectively lower cholesterol levels. Kale is recommended in the treatment of glaucoma and other eye diseases, as well as to increase the general immunity of the body.
It is able to remove toxic substances from the body during complex chemical poisoning, and is an antioxidant.
Only leaves are eaten, preferably in a raw form, so they retain all their useful trace elements and minerals as much as possible, although after heat treatment they still contain enough substances that our body needs. Nutritionists recommend eating this type of cabbage every day.
In the menu of different countries, it is used to prepare a variety of dishes: salads, soups, side dishes, cabbage rolls, and even make preparations for the winter. They can be frozen and dried, generally used like regular cabbage with a higher content of human benefits.
Collard greens of red and purple varieties impart their characteristic color to the preforms and can be used as a natural food coloring. This is the description of this plant.
Kinds
Kale cabbage has a lot of varieties that differ from each other in color, size, curliness of leaves, taste and trace element content, so red varieties are even called iron cabbage, due to their high iron content. Some types of kale have soft leaves, while others are tougher and more suitable for cooking. After the first frost, kale turns bright purple and the leaves soften.
All varieties of collard greens are biennial, frost-resistant, withstand temperatures from -15 ° C to -18 ° C. After wintering, they quickly become covered with new leaves, giving an early harvest.
There are enough Calais varieties to satisfy the taste of even the most selective gardener:
- red;
- Siberian;
- curly;
- prime minister;
- reed;
- blue dwarf;
- black tuscany;
- scarlet;
- redbor;
- reflex.
Among these varieties, you can find both fairly compact (blue dwarf - often mistaken for an ornamental plant) and tall (reed Kale can reach 2 meters). Collard greens of the Redbor F1 variety will decorate any landscape design, reaching a height of one and a half meters, it has red curly leaves, in general it looks very unusual on the site, like a palm tree. Black Tuscany is also very attractive for garden decoration, it has dense tuberous leaves with a bluish matte tint.
Every year the number of bred hybrids increases, so the list presented is not exhaustive.
Average ripening of cabbage is 75 - 90 days, but there are also more early ripening varieties. In general, you can pluck the leaves after they reach a length of 20 cm, so the whole season until late autumn, and new ones will grow in their place. Before wintering, cabbage is cut to a height of about 10 centimeters, and in the spring it is again covered with carved leaves. Many gardeners leave uncut bushes, which is also acceptable.
If there are very strong frosts in your region in winter, it is better to sprinkle the cabbage with mulch, but in most regions there is enough snow cover to prevent the crop from freezing.
How to grow cabbage
In order to grow Kale in your garden, special skills are not required, especially if you have previously had experience in growing any horticultural crops. For earlier collection of leaves on greens, seeds should be planted on seedlings in early April. Before planting, the seeds can be held in a special solution to improve germination, or simply wrapped in damp gauze for several days, after keeping them in the freezer for a week.
The gauze should be moistened periodically, avoiding drying out. After the seeds are nailed, they should be planted in pots (trays) with a nutrient mixture, you can use a store for seedlings. The pots are covered with foil, creating a greenhouse effect and preventing the top layer from drying out, placed in a warm place.
Seedlings usually appear on the 5-7th day, after which the film is removed, can be covered with glass caps, it all depends on the climatic conditions of the environment.
In late April or early May, seedlings can be planted in the ground, they are not afraid of frost. Before planting, the garden should be prepared in advance, mineral fertilizer should be applied, compost and wood ash can be added. The planting is carried out at a distance of 30-45 cm, but even here it all depends on the Calais variety.
Sprouts are planted, sprinkling with earth to the bottom leaf. You can plant several different types of cabbage in different corners of the flower garden, or even form a whole composition from them, defining low-growing varieties on the first line and further in ascending order. In this case, it will be possible to combine business with pleasure, using all your imagination to create a unique look for your garden.
You can plant seeds directly in the ground, this method differs only in the later start of harvesting. Caring for kale throughout the season is not very different from caring for other garden crops. Several times during the season, you should loosen the soil, apply fertilizers, weed weeds, water as the soil dries. Collard cabbage, like ordinary cabbage, is recommended to huddle 2-3 times per season. This is how kale is grown.
When choosing a place for future placement of beds for collard greens, preference should be given to well-lit areas. Kale kale does not like sour soil, special fertilizers should be applied, and a solution of citric acid of a small concentration can also help against souring the soil.
Ways to control pests and diseases
Now a lot of varieties have been bred that are less susceptible to diseases and pests. If you use fresh greens from the bush, then alternative methods should be used against diseases and pests, because processing with chemicals will make our cabbage unsuitable for human consumption. Calendula flowers will scare away butterflies from our harvest.
In dry weather, after sunset, you can spray our bushes with a solution of a small concentration of 7% table vinegar, diluted in a bucket of water, which will help protect our seedlings from garden pests. You can dust young plants with wood ash and tobacco dust. All procedures for processing plants are carried out in dry, calm weather, after rain, the procedure is repeated as necessary.
Chemicals should be used as a last resort, if already traditional sparing methods do not help save the vegetable crop. On kale, moths, flies, cruciferous fleas, rape sawer, flower beetle, wireworm are found. Bears are dangerous for the root system. With improper care, if the leaves are too waterlogged, slugs can settle in them.
Diseases in kale the same as any cruciferous crop. But our gardeners are still more likely to encounter pests than diseases on their site. With proper agricultural technology, proper care and protection from pests, you can get a very good harvest, and have fresh vitamin greens on the table all summer.
Storing kale in the refrigerator is permissible for up to 7-10 days, for the winter the leaves can be frozen, after thawing they become even sweeter and have a more delicate texture.
For an early harvest, you should choose the Premier variety, this is a fast-growing Kale, useful for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Gourmets distinguish the Dino variety as the most delicious, it has thin leaves. Curly Kale is the sweetest. Choose Kale to your liking and get the most out of it.
Kale on the table is very good fresh, in salads, but in ready-made dishes it is nothing worse. Collard greens go well with meat. Kale sauerkraut is no less useful in terms of vitamin content than fresh or stewed. Bright multi-colored Kale leaves will serve as a wonderful decoration for festive dishes on any table. They can serve as a base on serving plates for appetizers.
Choose Kale cabbage to your taste and be healthy! Let the eye rejoice in bright colors and unusual shapes, and let the body enjoy useful vitamins and minerals!
