Colourful collards project

[raymondo]

I guess you mean summer season? We get about 150 frost free days, give or take. We don't get snow because it's usually too dry over winter. In any case, the ground doesn't freeze so I can grow things all year. I grow most of my brassica crops over winter, starting them off mid to late summer so they get some size before the cold sets in. We had our first proper frost this morning as a matter of fact (it's late this year) so all the remnant summer stuff got frazzled.
We don't have flea beetles but we do have Queensland fruit fly and the green vegetable bug, both devestating summer pests. Together they can destroy crops like tomatoes, peaches etc. Winter gives me some respite.

[oxbowfarm]

Here's a much abused and neglected baby Ray's Colourful. They overwintered like little champs, I'm going to transplant them into some summer quarters soon.

[raymondo]

A glossy purple? I like the colour combos turning up in this mix.

[jim]

That is a very attractive color
Jim

[raymondo]

Last season I had a Black Tuscan kale next to some Georgia Southern collards and a Red Express red cabbage at flowering time. I collected the (very meagre) seeds from the Black Tuscan and sowed them. Only three plants grew, one is obviously red veined so I assume its father was Red Express. The other two are white veined so I assume their father was Georgia Southern. The leaves are lightly pucked and a grey-green colour, quite attractive. I've just moved them to a place they can be alone together as they flower. I want develop this a little in isolation from the rest of my collard project to see how it pans out.
There are some great collards in the rest of the patch with parentage from Georgia Southern and Green Glaze collards, a red cabbage and a savoy cabbage. Some are a deep claret colour with a glossy sheen. These are very small plants. I think the levels of anthocyanins might be too high for good photosynthesis, not sure though. They are a mix of generations with some backcrossing and many are looking decidedly cabbagey. I'll select the best of these for seed and next year they'll be planted with some collards or perhaps kales to reduce the cabbageness. I'll post pics when they get transplanted.

[wolfcub]

Thanks for the pictures Ray. Breeders are so clever. And thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[raymondo]

Two of the three Black Tuscan/collard crosses described above are still growing happily so they are entering their third year. Both have flowered and set seed twice and show no signs of slowing down. I've just taken some stem cuttings to reduce plant size as both are a little unruly now. I will probably have moved by the time they flower again so this is also an opportunity to pot up a cutting or two to take with me.

[templeton]

Ray,
do you have any of the early mixed up seed for sharing? The idea of cabbage white resistant brassicas is v appealing. Wonder if it would also deter the aphids that are sucking on my heritage italian broccoli?

[raymondo]

I do have seeds if you'd like some. However, the plants aren't resistant to the cabbage white, though they do seem less affected than the other brassicas. The main collard patch is quite lacy with caterpillar damage so perhaps the butterflies simply haven't discovered these ones yet. We are having a very mild start to winter so there are still plenty of the white marauders about. By this time, normally, the frosty nights would have seen the end of the butterfly until late spring. As for aphids, they only go for them when in flower. They aren't a great problem here anyway so I just ignore them.