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The Survival Gardener

by David The Good

Naturalizing Ethiopian Kale

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Read time:

Now this is a great idea! Organic Gardner comments:

I did an experiment and let several plants go to seed. I hung them upside down on my fence to dry and let the birds peck at the pods and spread the seeds. now our entire fence is lined with the plant. I think technically it’s a mustard green vs. a kale. Anyway it tastes great and keeps coming back every year and makes great edible and decorative landscape. The fence keeps it partially shaded/cooler so it doesn’t bolt as quickly.

That comment was left on my 2014 post about Ethiopian Kale.

By allowing the plant to self-seed (bird-seed?), Organic Gardner let nature select the strongest plants for his area.

This is good gardening!

It reminds me of what Joseph Lofthouse does, but on a backyard scale.

Some years ago, we threw Seminole pumpkin scraps into a garden bed we were using to make compost. The plants that lived gave us a great yield with no work. There were probably a few hundred seeds in there. Some grew and we got lots more pumpkins from those survivors.

I love the idea of doing the same with Ethiopian kale. It’s scrappy and well-suited to Florida and the Deep South.

Throw those seeds around and see what happens.

Related posts:

Two Seeds and Lots of Promise
Vintage science video: “Journey of Life”
My recommended seed sources
How To Save Pumpkin Seeds
Is Breeding Squash Really That Difficult?
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David The Good

3 responses to “Naturalizing Ethiopian Kale”

  1. Wendy Rafalski Avatar
    Wendy Rafalski

    Up here I don’t have to plant red russian kale anymore as long as I leave a plant here and there to go to seed since it’s a biannual. All the harvest, none of the work (except thinning/weeding all the seedling kale).

  2. visitor Avatar
    visitor

    I am growing Ethiopian kale for the 1st time in East Central Florida, zone 9B. I planted it back in September and it has been producing for months. It does not show signs of going to seed – yet (2/27/2022) – but we have been having weeks with temps in the mid 80’s (in January and February) so it may happen soon.

    I like that the stems cook to be tender. The plant is tall and top-heavy. It will fall over and sprawl unless you stake it. The only negative: when I break off leaves to cook, the plant has a slight odor similar to garlic. (I **hate** garlic.) However, it does not taste like garlic. Seeds for this can be expensive and hard to find. I will be saving seeds and sharing with the garden club I belong to.

  3. E. Avatar
    E.

    I purchased seeds from Florida Gator Gardens , I live in a very hot area of California and am looking forward to growing this .

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The Holy Bible (Douay-Rheims translation) by God
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History of Rome by Michael Grant
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The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1
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David The Good

I’m David The Good, gardening author, homesteading, survival gardener, nursery owner and plant geek. Let’s grow some food!

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