Russian Roulette: A Kale I Know You'll Love

A different variety of kale that will win you over.

In the past, I've posted about Siberian Kale, a winter hardy Brassica (Member of the cabbage/broccoli family) that is a big favorite in our house.  We love this veggie because it is packed with nutrients, is so cold tolerant it can be grown during the winter, and is a great ingredient in soups and stir fry dishes.  Oh and did I mention, it's incredibly easy to grow and resistant to most pests!

You may also be familiar with some other varieties of kale such as Lacinato, which also goes by the name Toscano or Dinosaur kale, Dwarf Blue kale, a dark curly leafed variety, and Redbor a finely curled almost magenta colored kale.  All are winter hardy and all generally require cooking as they can be a bit woody.  They are also all varieties from the same specie -- Brassica Olaracea.

Red Russian Kale

This spring, I tried a a new type of kale called Red Russian.  This kale is very different from the all of the previously mentioned varieties, including it's Siberian namesake, because it is a different specie of kale -- Brassica Napus (versus Brassica Oleracea for all the other varieties).  What I really like about this type of kale is that it is so soft that it does not really need to be cooked.  You can eat it raw as a salad green or toss it into soup during the last minute of cooking.  

Red Russian kale has a broad flat leaf and a silver-green color.  The stems and veins of the leaves are light to dark purple, giving this kale an almost ornamental appearance.  In fact, I think this would make an excellent addition for gardeners that are engaged in "Edible Landscaping," creating gardens that are beautiful to the eye, but made with edible, rather than ornamental, plants.

I like Red Russian kale so much, I will probably grow it as the primary type of kale I put into my garden in the future.

If you have not grown kale before, consider adding Red Russian kale to your garden this fall.  I know you will really enjoy it.

Comments

[michaele]

Thank you for the post. I like to plant kale because it remains green long into the cold weather. I can't wait to try Red Russian as a salad green. Did you start the plants from seed?

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Michaele:
If you like regular kale, I think you are going to love this.

I started mine from seed -- Lake Valley Seed Company is the seed company; they distributed packets to a local garden center here in Northern California.

You can order Red Russian Kale online from Baker Creek Seed, Johnnys Selected Seeds and others. The variety is sometimes called Ragged Jack. Incidentally, Lake Valley Seed incorrectly specifies the specie as Brassica Oleracea on the seed pack. This is not correct, its Brassica Napus.

If you decide to grow Red Russian, let me know if you like it.

One more thing.... Im not sure how well this variety will tolerate heat, so you may need to wait to plant in the fall. You need 50-60 days
to reach maturity, so plan according to your hardiness zone.

-PlanterTomato (Mark)

[saleem]

hi micheal sorry if i spelt your name wrong. you might not like me because im a muslim but i do not care all i have got to say to you is that you have helped me learn so much about kale and i had to do my homework on kale because my science teacher loves kale he is now sooo impressed he told me to do an biography about you so i wrote about you and kale and moved to the highest set in school i would like to thank you sooo much. thanking you bye