SEA-KALE 203 



table before asparagus starts into growth. Since this crop is cooked 

 and served much like asparagus, it offers an agreeable substitute 

 before the asparagus is ready for use. The development of the 

 sea-kale may be further hastened by banking fermenting manure 

 about the crowns. 



Propagation. — Sea-kale may be propagated either from seeds 

 or root cuttings. If seed is used, it should be sown in early spring 

 either in a carefully prepared seed-bed out-of-doors, or in a mild 

 hotbed. If out-of-doors, the rows should be from one to one and 

 one-half feet apart, and the seedlings thinned to six inches apart 

 in the row. If started in a hotbed, the seedlings are transplanted 

 to similar distances in the open as soon as they are large enough 

 to be readily handled. Here they are given good tillage through 

 the season, and mulched in the fall. Early the following spring 

 the plants are set in their permanent location. Here they should 

 be placed in rows from three to four feet apart, with the plants 

 two to three feet apart in the row. Two years later a crop can 

 be cut. 



If root cuttings are used, they may be procured from an old 

 plantation that needs renewing, or from the trimmings of roots 

 that are dug for winter forcing. The main root has numerous 

 side branches, from which the cuttings are made, much the same 

 as in the case of horse-radish. The cuttings may be from four to 

 nine inches long. If taken in the fall they are tied in bunches 

 and buried in sand until spring. If taken in the spriiig they may 

 be planted directly after making. They are planted with dibbers, 

 and the top is placed about an inch below the surface of the 

 ground. A crop may be harvested two years after the planting 

 of the cuttings. 



Sea-kale should never be allowed to produce seed, unless seed 

 is needed for planting, for this reduces the strength of the plant, 

 and strong plants are needed to produce good crops. The flower 

 stalks should be cut off as soon as they appear. It is also a common 

 practice to remove the weaker leaf stalks if these appear in large 

 numbers. A strong growth is also encouraged by annual dressings 

 of manure or compost, usually applied in the fall. 



Blanching. — The leaf stalks of sea-kale are always blanched 

 if they are to be gathered for the table. Blanched stalks are nearly 

 white and do not have the bitter flavor characteristic of this plant 

 when allowed to develop in sunlight. Since it is the earliest growth 

 of spring that is desired for the table, the blanching can be very 



