Sea Kale

Perennial. Crambe maritima

15 seeds per packet.

We've been growing this epic perennial vegetable for years, and we are excited to finally have the seeds in our catalog! Wild edible, typically found growing on salty sandy shores but also does fine in regular garden soil. Leaves are best when young and blanched (covered with a bucket or pot to reduce light and encourage delicate, tender growth), but can also be eaten when older like regular kale. White flowers make the pollinators go crazy and put on a show. Single plants can flower to 5' diameter and 2-3' tall (see photo).

Full disclosure, we typically propagate this plant from cuttings, but the seeds do germinate decently so we figured we would offer it in this form. Typical germination rates are 20-30%, so don't expect to get too many plants from a seed packet. However, once you have a plant, they are very easy to propagate from "thongs" which are root cuttings that can be transplanted to expand your patch. You can increase the success of germination if you peel each seed out of it's lifejacket (the floating shell that encases the actual seed). This plant adapted to grow near oceans, drop its seed into the water and they would float to new locations, so they are well equipped with floating shells that improve dispersal but actually inhibit germination.