Kale Red Russian Seeds

Red Russian Kale brassica fimbriata/napa. World-renowned for being far more tender and sweet than other kales, this heirloom variety has exceptional flavour without the tough texture.

Also known as 'Ragged Jack,' Red Russian Kale features stunning, oak-leaf-shaped foliage in a striking grey-green colour, heavily veined with vivid violet and purple stems. After the first frost, a transformation is triggered, turning the leaves significantly sweeter and increasing the vibrant purple hues. Whether you are harvesting tender baby leaves for raw salad or mature leaves for a quick braise, this kale is a gourmet delight, harvested fresh from your garden.

Features:

• Unbeatable Tender Texture: The smooth, velvety leaf is remarkably tender, lacking the coarse toughness of curly kales, making it ideal for raw eating and quick cooking.

• Complex, Sweet Flavour: Deeply nutty and complex, with a powerful natural sweetness that is amplified by cold weather and frost.

• Fast-Growing & High-Yielding: Highly productive, providing multiple harvests of both baby and mature leaves over a prolonged season.

• Superior Disease & Pest Resistance: Shows excellent resilience against common brassica challenges, including Cabbage White Butterfly, especially when grown alongside your Red Acre Cabbage and other companion plants.

• Exceptional Cold Tolerance: A reliable, frost-hardy staple that thrives in cool climates, maintaining quality through heavy frost and light snow.

Growing Information (Australia):

• Scientific Name: Brassica napus 'Red Russian' (brassica fibriata)

• Sowing Season: * Temperate/Cool (e.g., Tasmania): Spring to Late Autumn. (Achieves the sweetest flavour with autumn/winter harvest).

  • Subtropical/Tropical: Autumn and Winter (avoiding the peak humidity of Summer).

• Position: Full sun to partial shade; prefers rich, loamy, consistently moist soil with excellent drainage.

• Sowing Depth: 5mm–1cm deep.

• Spacing: 30–40cm apart (mature plants).

• Germination: 7–12 days. (Keep soil moist during this period).

• Harvest: 25–30 days (baby leaves); 50–60 days (mature leaves) from transplanting.

• Gardener’s Tip: For maximum sweetness, plan your harvest to begin after the first few frosts. Mulch around the plant to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. Interplant with aromatic herbs to help manage Cabbage White Butterfly populations, as seen in your productive Ranelagh garden.

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100 seeds