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bingo

Sea Kale........

......What do we know about it?

I've found loads........help me out.
hedgehogpie

IRRC it's a protected plant (1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act).

The root has got a crunchy texture and is nice raw. If cooked, becomes starchy/sweet and slightly fiberous. The young shoots were often earthed up with piles of shingle to blanch them for use, then cut and steamed then served in a similar manner as asparagus. The flavour is said to be delicate.

The mature leaves are thick and leathery, and apparently (according to one source I've read) stay that way, even after considerable boiling!
bingo

So it's eligal to pick it?
cab

Yep, it has specific protection under the wildlife and countryside act (1981), making collection without the landowners permission illegal. So, obviously, no one here would condone collection of leaves and flower heads from where it may be astonishingly abundant, steaming them lightly, and serving with black pepper and butter.

I'd be lying if I said I'd never collected it. I haven't collected it since realising that to do so is illegal, however. Prior to the days of the internet, you just didn't learn that such things were illegal.

You get a lot of other brassicas growing near the sea; cabbage like, broccoli like plants do really well there, often escapees from gardens crossing freely with wild relatives. They're all fair game.
hedgehogpie

I was going to suggest harvesting some seed and growing your own till I read this on Allotments-uk:

Quote:
You're starting on a long hard road. You CAN grow them from seed,- 1 inch deep, thinned to 18 inches in the row, but the likelihood is after a year that all you'll have is a few rather small roots. Like asparagus, that's just the start of the story. Don't try to harvest anything for the first year. In the second winter after sowing, you can mound earth round the plant to blanch the growth, if you intend to develop themn in an outdoor bed, or you can cover it with a blanching pot - light should be excluded anyway and some manure round the outside of the pot will help - these can be harvested in february/march.( 2 years after you sowed the seed!) However, it really takes at least three years, like asparagus, for the plants to develop. Keep only the strongest growth.

Another alternative if you have a source of supply from someone who is growing them (haven't seen them sold for a long time) is to plant root cuttings ( known as 'thongs' - these are the side roots off the main one) in the autumn.Cut them about six inches long. To check you've got them the right way up, cut the tops level and the bottoms at a slant , In March use a dibber to plant them half an inch deep below the surface and mulch with well rotted manure. Again, don't harvest the first year, just grow on. Then blanch the growth again in the follwing february/march - the darker the better

You can also force the roots indoors - dig up the roots in November and take off your root cuttings ( thongs) . Then store the thongs in a cool place in bundles in dampish to dry sand for planting a new bed next year. The roots themselves (with the crown bud still intact) are also stored in a cool place until you want to force them - put them in a 10 inch pot of rich soil with the crown just showing at the surface. Cover this pot over with another pot and exclude all light - then keep in a place where you can keep them dark and at a constant temperature about 50 degrees for a period of a month - a garage would be the best kind of place. After that time they should be about 6 inches long, yellowish white and ready to cut - only cut them when you want to use them - they don't store well.

After all this you may think that it's not worth the effort.


Shocked
Bugs

I think if you have a garden growing it is certainly an option and worth a bit of patience and space. We sowed seeds in both 2006 and 2007 - the first year plants were a good 8 inches or more across, tip to tip and had very pretty flowers (removed before setting seed) so they earned their keep even without a crop - RHS Wisley has a big, handsome patch of it in one of their mixed borders.

Overwintering in pots, two of our three plants rotted off at the top - I took root cuttings, at the wrong time of year and the wrong size, and 4 out of 5 of those are now showing growth. The 2007 plants went in to our (chalky, ie well drained) soil and are looking fine.

I bought seeds from Kings (<£1.50) and they were viable for two years after opening at least; Marshalls the other mainstream catalogues regularly stock thongs of the varieties called Lily White or Angers - about £10 for five seems to be the going rate there.

We don't anticipate a crop for several years but as well as the learning process I think that (like asparagus or artichokes) it's worth the wait especially as we would be unlikely to be able to try this plant any other way.
hedgehogpie

I must admit, I do fancy giving it a go although the veg plot is chock a block right now. I wonder if you can get away with growing it in a large container instead?
cab

hedgehogpie wrote:
I must admit, I do fancy giving it a go although the veg plot is chock a block right now. I wonder if you can get away with growing it in a large container instead?


The roots can get quite massive, so you'd probably get away with it if you split it every few years.

I've got two plants, put them out I think last autumn, having swapped for them with the lass on the market. Can't say that they're setting the place alight, they're rather sulking.
hedgehogpie

I'd say splitting is an option, I rather liked the roots when I tried them. You say yours are ok in free draining chalky soil Bugs which sounds good as we're on chalk hereabouts too.

I feel inspired now, thanks for posting that question Bingo!

(and sorry for hijacking your thread Embarassed )
PeteS

I am waiting for samphire Smile
hedgehogpie

Ah yes. Very Happy

I've been picking a few morsels of samphire over the last week, they're about 3" high at the moment. Shouldn't be long before I can get more than just an appetiser from my local patches! Laughing
PeteS

Bingo,

I have a book - Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me, by Denis Cotter (an Irish vege chef). It's a superb book and I recommend it to anyone into wild food, especially those that are vegetarian.

He highly rates Seakale with recipes such as: 'green seakale with orange, tomato and fresh sheep's cheese'; 'seakale with lemon thyme butter and pine nuts'.

There's some good stuff in there. You can borrow it if you like.
gnome

there's a stretch of beach near me that has great samphire. a couple of years ago i went on the cross bay walk and picked a few sprigs to munch on the way. by the time we were walking back, there were dozens of people trying it. i dont think most people realise just how good it tastes until they try it. it's a little like very young asparagus.
cab

PeteS wrote:

I have a book - Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me, by Denis Cotter (an Irish vege chef). It's a superb book and I recommend it to anyone into wild food, especially those that are vegetarian.


Seconded. Inspirational, rather than practical, which in many ways makes it a more usefull cookery book.
bingo

PeteS wrote:
Bingo,

I have a book - Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me, by Denis Cotter (an Irish vege chef). It's a superb book and I recommend it to anyone into wild food, especially those that are vegetarian.

He highly rates Seakale with recipes such as: 'green seakale with orange, tomato and fresh sheep's cheese'; 'seakale with lemon thyme butter and pine nuts'.

There's some good stuff in there. You can borrow it if you like.


I have a tenner for you. Wink
mushroom man

I don't think it is illegal to pick Sea Kale - digging it up would be (without permission), but it is not a section 8 plant and has no other protection I can find. It is actually quite lowly as far as conservation is concerned rating only a "least concern" status. Really it is the habitat that is rare. The only question I can see is that it often grows on SSSi's and is often cited in their declaration. It is illegal to damage anything that is mentioned in the citation. Digging up would count as damage but removing an odd leaf or two would, arguably, not.

Well I would be really, truly grateful if anyone who knows differently would let me know! The law on collecting is a mess and we need a few cases to come to court - any volunteers?
cab

My understanding was that it is protected. Lets look...

http://www.naturenet.net/law/wcagen.html#plants

Section 13 there refers us to schedule 8, to see which plants are protected...

http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1816

And sea kale isn't on the list.

So perhaps we've been basing this on duff information?
bingo

mushroom man wrote:
The law on collecting is a mess and we need a few cases to come to court - any volunteers?


Well..... Rolling Eyes .....I could pick it then sell it. Rolling Eyes

See what happens. Laughing
bingo

The whole Mrs Tee stuff in the Forest p*sses me off. What makes her able to pick, what ever and do, what ever with, what ever?

She's German too.

I grew up in the New Forest.

Disclaimer.....I am not anti German, just making a point on local behaviour.
mushroom man

Sorry - you can't sell it. The common law right of collecting the four "F's" is for private use only. Commercial picking would put you in contravention of the Theft Act 1968. Mrs T was not subject to this restriction because of her presumed commoner rights. All good fun. Let's hope the EU don't decide to meddle in an already confused area!
bingo

Fair play......

Have you spotted any COTW's Mushroom man?
bingo

Is it o.k to pick sea beet?
cab

bingo wrote:
Is it o.k to pick sea beet?


Absolutely.
bingo

That's just as well then. Laughing
cab

bingo wrote:
That's just as well then. Laughing


Got a good haul then? Laughing

Wonderful stuff is sea beet.
bingo

Near where I'm working on Hamble beach........loads.
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