***These are live root cuttings, NOT seeds.***
Crambe maritima
Origin: Northern Europe, via Montana
Improvement status: Selected plants from a breeding population
Root cuttings per packet: 3
Life cycle: Perennial
***The root cuttings will arrive in damp peat moss in plastic ziplock bags. They should immediately be stored in the fridge. WE ALSO STRONGLY encourage you to pot them up in potting soil sooner rather than later. They should be fine in the fridge for a few weeks or probably a couple months, but if you have the capability it is much safer to pot them up ASAP!! If you wait until spring there is a greater chance that they rot in the bag.
It is essential to plant the seakale thongs vertically, with the blunt end up and the pointed end down. IF YOU ARE UNABLE to distinguish what end is up and what end is down, place the root cutting horizontally across the top of damp potting soil and wait to see where the plant growth occurs.
Beautiful, fragrant, delicious and low maintenance. Seakale is basically the gold standard for perennial vegetables. This selection is a 3rd-generation cross between a variety of parents' seedlings from a range of sources including J.L. Hudson, Chris Homanics, William Whitson, and others. The major limiting factors on seakale are its hardiness and often bitter taste profile. This population contains two types with emergence times differing by about two weeks. The earlier emerging types have purple buds and the late emerging ones have green buds. Our source for these root cuttings, Montana-based breeder Michael Billington, has been selecting for plants with less of the powdery blue quality to the leaves because that seems to be directly related to their bitterness. These plants have been subjected to -10F in arid conditions. The survivors of these weather events are the parent plants for all subsequent breeding work. We're excited offer this extra-cold-hardy selection for the first time!
Seakale is a once-popular crop famed in English gardens but which goes largely unnoticed in America, though in certain circles it is finally getting the attention it deserves. Seakale comes from the coasts of northern Europe where it grows in sprawling clumps along the shore. Because this plant evolved on ocean shores it developed some unique characteristics. It is considered a halophyte, meaning it can grow in the presence of salt. This can inform our management because if we spread salt on our seakale beds then we limit weed growth and improve the seakale’s flavor. It also evolved seedpods with a foamy pericarp (like a hull) that helps them float to another location. These seedpods, when still green, make for a nice crunchy garden snack, like a mustard-flavored pea. Young shoots are often blanched by covering the plant with an upturned terra cotta pot in early spring, so the shoots develop in the absence of sunlight. This makes them less bitter and quite beautiful (some varieties are pink and some yellow under this treatment).
Crambe maritima provides one of the first foods in spring, at which point the shoots are like a mixture of bok choy and asparagus. In late spring, it provides the first succulent kale-like leaves (with younger leaves tastier and more tender than older ones). Next comes a profusion of succulent broccoli-like florets. These eventually turn into a sea of white flowers that delight pollinators and noses as it perfumes the air with its beeswax-scented blooms. These edible flowers eventually turn into enjoyable seed pods that are a welcome addition to any salad or pickled product (they can even be brined and used like capers!).
Michael's tips for growing seakale root cuttings:
Seakale is usually propagated by root cuttings known as “thongs” [as we're selling here]. By planting root cuttings you can establish harvestable plants much quicker than you could with seed. When planting by seed you likely won’t be able to harvest your perennial crop until year three. When planting with thongs, you can harvest the second year and the plant will be much larger. Additionally, planting thongs allows you to get a genetic clone of the parent plant. This population of seakale has been the subject of breeding for cold hardiness for nearly a decade. By planting thongs, you can be confident that the plant you grow will have this same level of hardiness whereas establishing a planting with seed could lead to unpredictable results.
Seakale thongs only form crowns on one end of the root division. This is the end with the blunt cut. New roots will form out of the angled cut. It is not necessary to put rooting hormones onto the angled cut, but it will help the plant establish itself. Plant the thong so that the blunt end is about ¾” inch under the soil surface. You should expect to see a certain amount of dessication or even rot to develop… this is normal and will not hinder growth and will eventually disappear. Plant the thongs no less than one foot apart. They expand quickly so if you have the space plant them up to three feet apart. Mulching the plantings with a few inches of loose material is helpful to protect them over winter but should be removed in the spring as the crown buds begin to shoot up. After they have grown a few leaves you may mulch them again.
NOTE: We also offer true seed from this population of seakale.
