kales and why I love Pruden's Purple

habitat_gardener · July 18, 2012

Yesterday's harvest! The first set is from a 60 sq. ft. community garden plot. This is one reason I love Pruden's Purple: I harvested my first one (13.5 oz.) on the same day I harvested my first Tommy Toe cherry tomatoes and Jetsetter F1. And the Pruden's is riper than the cherries! It's ready to eat for dinner today.

Clockwise, from the top: Rainbow Lacinato kale, unidentified zucchini (I got the plant from a friend), gypsy pepper, Tommy Toe cherry tomato, Pruden's Purple, 2 Black Prince, Jetsetter F1, Dinosaur (aka Lacinato, Tuscan, Black) kale.

Closeup of tomatoes.

The next set is from another garden location.
Clockwise from top: Red Russian kale (garden volunteers; I don't even plant it anymore because I can rely on some volunteers showing up), rhubarb (it's small because I tried to give this plant away, and only a quarter of it was left), scarlet runner beans (I didn't have to plant it this year; it came back from the root), gypsy peppers, Belize Pink Heart, 2 Astia zucchini.

Perennial kale (my favorite kale). Has a little bitterness raw, but I can only eat a few raw leaves at a time. Cooked, it's the sweetest kale I've ever eaten, and this amount is 2 servings.

The fifth one is a shot of Rainbow Lacinato before picking. I've wanted to grow this one ever since I heard about it. It's almost too beautiful to pick! It's a little milder and more tender than regular Lacinato, and I like it raw.

habitat_gardener · July 18, 2012

Here's a view of the scarlet runner beans growing over an arch. The flowers are edible, too.

Randall · July 18, 2012

Great photos! Everything looks really good. Pruden's Purple was one of my first ripe tomatoes last year. I didn't grow it this year because I tried to squeeze a lot of different varieties in. I might have to grow one next year just to get an early pink beefsteak...Congrats on the harvesting. Enjoy!

Mark0820 · July 18, 2012

Very nice harvest! That is a nice assortment of veggies.

Sun City Linda · July 18, 2012

Great looking harvest. I love Prudens Purple.

Mudman · July 18, 2012

Nice harvest, never have been let down by Pruden's Purple.

lakelady · July 18, 2012

Wonderful harvest! So pretty and colorful. I love Lacinato Kale! For me, it is biennial and comes back to continue to pick before going to seed. This year I saved seeds of it

and it is gorgeous when it sends out all those beautiful yellow flowers in late Spring. My neighbors asked me what kind of flower that was.

I'll have to try Prudens Purple myself, it looks good and is earlier than the other beefsteaks, sounds good to me!

habitat_gardener · July 19, 2012

Lacinato kale is amazing! My leaves are small because the 2 plants are nearly a year old. I transplanted them from another garden, where they hadn't been doing well because they were surrounded by plants I let go wild (nettles and violas mostly). The snails and slugs ate most of the leaves in that garden.

July 18, 2012	#6
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Nice harvest, never have been let down by Pruden's Purple. __________________ Mike

July 18, 2012	#7
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Wonderful harvest! So pretty and colorful. I love Lacinato Kale! For me, it is biennial and comes back to continue to pick before going to seed. This year I saved seeds of it and it is gorgeous when it sends out all those beautiful yellow flowers in late Spring. My neighbors asked me what kind of flower that was. I'll have to try Prudens Purple myself, it looks good and is earlier than the other beefsteaks, sounds good to me! __________________ Antoniette

July 18, 2012	#3
Randall Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: 6a Posts: 396	Great photos! Everything looks really good. Pruden's Purple was one of my first ripe tomatoes last year. I didn't grow it this year because I tried to squeeze a lot of different varieties in. I might have to grow one next year just to get an early pink beefsteak...Congrats on the harvesting. Enjoy!

July 18, 2012	#4
Mark0820 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 907	Very nice harvest! That is a nice assortment of veggies.

July 18, 2012	#5
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	Great looking harvest. I love Prudens Purple.

July 19, 2012	#8
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	Lacinato kale is amazing! My leaves are small because the 2 plants are nearly a year old. I transplanted them from another garden, where they hadn't been doing well because they were surrounded by plants I let go wild (nettles and violas mostly). The snails and slugs ate most of the leaves in that garden.