Kale Seed Saving

I'm a novice seed saver. I just recently learned how fantastic it is to save seeds from the pants I grow. Not only does it save money and a trip to the garden store, but after several generations of the plants, they better adapt to the conditions of my backyard! It's just a super cool thing to do, and I love that I can keep the kale going indefinitely with seed saving!

I first learned about seed saving from an event in Phoenix I went to called the Great American Seed Up. I bought lots of different seeds for various edible plants and super cheap prices, and I was educated about the importance of saving my own seeds! I've just been so interested in the whole thing ever since, and really want to practice it in my own life and on my own urban microfarm.

The kale is the first thing I've been successful at saving seeds for! It's interesting, normally it takes kale two years to go to seed, but mine did it after only one season! It must have to do with the warm Arizona weather.

So! I'd like to walk you through my kale success! Maybe it will inspire someone to try this for themselves!

The variety of kale I planted was labeled as a blue dwarf variety. It was a non hybrid variety which is something to look out for when you plan on saving seeds. One thing I noticed is that the leaves were not very curly like I expected. Hmm..still yummy though.

October 17 2017 - The seeds have sprouted!

November 12 2017 - Leaves are growing, but getting munched by some bugs!

November 18 2017 - even more leaves now.

December 17 - the plants had gotten big enough for me to harvest a salad!

January 10 2018 - Kale still doing well in the garden bed.

January 17 2018 - The kale raab is starting to develop! These will become flowers then seed pods! Apparently this is edible and delicious, but don't harvest if you want seeds! I did eat some and it was good :)

March 4 2018 - yellow flowers are on the plants now, not so many leaves anymore.

March 4 2018 - A bee hard at work pollinating, thanks Mr. Bee! I'm wondering where the seeds are at this point. I didn't know what the seed pods were supposed to look like or where they were located. I had to do some googling to figure out what to expect. 

April 4 2018 - Seed pods have developed now and are very green. The seed pods must be dry and brown before you collect the seeds. I wonder if they will ever turn brown. Aphids have really started to infest the plants now too but I refrain from using any chemicals. A strong spray of water really seemed to help reduce the aphid problem.

April 22 2018 - The seed pods are now turning brown! Some seeds are starting to rattle in the pods!

April 22 2018 - I pick some of the seed pods!

April 22 2018 - SEEDS!!

About a fortnight ago when I first noticed some brown pods I planted a couple of seeds to see if they would sprout and they did! So I think these seeds are viable! Sadly my newly sprouted plant perished when I put it outside so I have planted a few more!

It's not exactly kale season in Arizona right now, but I would really like to figure out how to keep kale growing year round. I have some shady places that I'd like to try, maybe I can find a good summer microclimate someplace it the yard.

The kale was quite good you see. I used it mostly in salads and to make green smoothies. I have a goal to have enough greens to have a salad for my family every night, and these plants got me at least part way there. Now I need MORE!

Thanks for reading, I will have more updates on successes and failures soon :)