Last year, I had the good fortune to grow a curly kale plant that not only survived the cold of winter, but which has gone on to flower. This hardy biennial member of the cabbage family goes to see on its second year. I’m hoping to gather some seed from it later this summer even though it is taking up much needed garden space. My understanding is that once the seed production is complete, the entire plant will die.
One interesting thing I noticed is that the seed pods (the slender rods visible in the picture at right) are very similar to the seed pods I saw my radish plants produce last year! Interesting, but I doubt that they are related. (Note: you can click on the picture to enlarge it). Below is a picture of a radish seed pod that is mature.
When I shot this picture, there was a small bee actively working the flowers. That's the first bee I've seen on a long time.
I'd heard somewhere that they might be in trouble as a species due to some kind of bacterial infection that was going around. I'm not sure if that information is correct.
Earlier in the year for 2011, I grew a few more kale plants from seed I had purchased at a store. Right now they are still tiny and all the rain we had recently (see article on
floods) did not help much. With luck, perhaps I’ll be able to harvest some seed from this plant and sow it before the end of summer.
