Three Plants in One. 31st March 2017

I learnt a couple of years ago to leave the kale plants in the ground until spring even though we have eaten all the kale leaves. What happens is that they start to sprout again at this time of year and produce little shoots – a little like purple sprouting broccoli but smaller. The bottom leaves of the sprouts also start to grow, and you can get another picking of baby kale leaves. What an amazing plant. What you call a good doer.

I also planted out some new baby kale. I had planted seeds in the back garden inside a plastic ring last August. They grew to a few inches high then remained static all winter before starting to grow again this spring. They are now about 8 inches high and have been planted out at the allotment and covered with netting to prevent pigeon damage. They will produce a follow on crop once we have finished stripping the old plants.

As well as kale sprouts we are also picking purple sprouting broccoli. I love purple sprouting broccoli and can never have too much. We have about 8 plants and at the moment I’m picking a batch every other day. I will also use some of the bigger leaves for juicing. I like to juice during the summer months when we have excess crops from the allotment, and after the spring equinox is a good time to start. Green juices are so beneficial for the body – they are quite bitter and you only need a small amount but they are a real cleanser and a tonic for the liver.

It’s so good to be outside again planting and watching everything spring into life. The birds are singing, spring flowers are a riot of colour and nature is weaving it’s magic yet again. Happy days.