Today I planted my Seakale. Seakale is one of those vegetables that you see on TV programmes about what the Victorian’s grew in their huge walled kitchen gardens. But it’s not the kind of vegetable that people actually grow. But I’ve always wanted to grow it and now’s my chance.
I checked out where I should plant it. A sunny position is best where it can be left undisturbed. I didn’t have a spot in full sun so we’ll have to see how it does in part shade. The soil should be deep, rich, sandy, ideal pH7. It also likes good drainage. And they should be planted 15 - 17 inches apart.
Forced Seakale is really the crop that you want. And as I understand it I need to leave it a year before I can start forcing it.
The only problem I can see is that I might have to invest in a neat little Seakale forcer to add to my forcing pot gallery.
It’s time to start thinking about buying some seed. I spend weeks researching which vegetables and which varieties I will grow. Most of my decisions are made based on what I’m into eating at the moment. But I always leave room to try out new vegetables that I’ve never grown before.
Because my tiny plot is, well, so tiny. There are tons of fruit and vegetables that I’ve never grown before. Some because I just don’t like to eat them - Celery, Celeriac, Chicory - not really sure why they all begin with C…hmmm.
And some because I’ve not had the right equipment or the space. So with that in mind I’m homing in on some new veg that I’d like to have a go at.
- Seakale (Angers) - ever since I saw it featured on The Victorian Kitchen I’ve always been fascinated by what it would actually taste like.
- Melon (Sivan) - because now I have a huge coldframe I finally have the space to grow one!
- Borlotti Bean (Supremo) - I’ve never grown beans for drying and the red pods will look so good in my garden.
- Tayberry (Buckingham Thornless) - When I saw a Tayberry trained into a fan at Heligan a couple of years ago I’ve always wanted one. Now I just need to find a bit of wall to train it on.
That’s it for now. I’m sure I will think of more before the seed order goes in. I always do.
