Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.

This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.

Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.

Comments appreciated.

I reuse potting soil all the time for house plants with no ill effects. I've
never tried it with food crops, though. Is kale a heavy feeder? If not, it
may work fine, especially if you are giving them plant food.

Utopia in Decay -- The future is coming to get you.
http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.cherkauer/site/

Kevin Cherkauer


"RF" wrote in message
...
Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop.

I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

On Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:37:54 -0700, RF wrote:

Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.

This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.

Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.

Comments appreciated.

This is a specific UK newsgroup and I don't think many people in UK
grow kale in pots. I'd love to try but we can't get that variety
over here. I looked on a web site and it was 3 dollars for the seed
and 6 dollars for postage!
I don't think you'll get such good results with old compost. Why not
try an experiment, grow some in old and some in new compost.

Pam in Bristol

On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote:
Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.

This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.

Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.

Comments appreciated.

When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it
prior to planting. Have had good results.
Nan in DE

Pam Moore wrote:
On Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:37:54 -0700, RF wrote:

Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.

This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.

Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.

Comments appreciated.

This is a specific UK newsgroup and I don't think many people in UK
grow kale in pots. I'd love to try but we can't get that variety
over here. I looked on a web site and it was 3 dollars for the seed
and 6 dollars for postage!
I don't think you'll get such good results with old compost. Why not
try an experiment, grow some in old and some in new compost.

Pam in Bristol

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

Thanks Kevin for the info. I'm not sure what kind
of feeder kale
is classified as. I will try a few experiments,
like replacing half
the old soil.

Kevin Cherkauer wrote:
I reuse potting soil all the time for house plants with no ill effects. I've
never tried it with food crops, though. Is kale a heavy feeder? If not, it
may work fine, especially if you are giving them plant food.

Utopia in Decay -- The future is coming to get you.
http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.cherkauer/site/

Kevin Cherkauer


"RF" wrote in message
...
Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop.

I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote:



Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.

This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.

Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?

I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.

Comments appreciated.

When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it
prior to planting. Have had good results.
Nan in DE

I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I
have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have
to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10.

Chris

On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:


You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

Thanks RF. I didn't look hard enough. I know T&M.
Will try them and try some in pots!

Pam in Bristol

On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

I've just re-read your post and see that it is the Black Tuscany or
Cavolo Nero which you are recommending.
I already have those!!!
How about the Lacinato? Is it the same thing?

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

I've just re-read your post and see that it is the Black Tuscany or
Cavolo Nero which you are recommending.
I already have those!!!
How about the Lacinato? Is it the same thing?

Not quite, but I bet the Black Tuscany is close to
the Lacinato in the group - a subdivision of the
cabbage family. See below.

Pam in Bristol

There are a very large number of variants of this
kale. Dinosaur kale is sometimes called Lacinato
or Lacinato Blue or Toscano - the Italian name for
what we would call Tuscany. This is the one I have
been growing. The colour can vary from green
when young, to a dark green-blue.

I believe Cavalo Nero is Italian for Curly Black.

The University of New Hampshire (US) has done
extensive studies of these variants, including the
nutrients in them. The cabbage family is very
broad and it is divided into different groups with
the Dinosaur/Lacinato/Toscano the most nutritious
group of the family. After some comparisons with
other varieties of kale, they reported that
"Toscano was the best kale with far greater lutein
and carotenoid concentrations than any others."
Oddly, although they extensively research this
family, they don't use the word Dinosaur or
Lacinato. They use Toscano only.

If you are interested, visit http://www.unh.edu/
and type kale into the search box at the top right
corner of the page. They had a PDF showing the
test result details but the
one I downloaded appears to have become corrupted.

Pam Moore wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

I've just re-read your post and see that it is the Black Tuscany or
Cavolo Nero which you are recommending.
I already have those!!!
How about the Lacinato? Is it the same thing?

Pam in Bristol

Here is an excellent article on Kale including a
list of nutrients.

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?t...healthbenefits

Chris wrote:
On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote:



Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.
This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.
Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?
I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.
Comments appreciated.
When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it
prior to planting. Have had good results.
Nan in DE

I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I
have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have
to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10.

Chris

Thanks Chris - that's good to know.

On Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:26:38 -0700, RF wrote:

Pam Moore wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.

I've just re-read your post and see that it is the Black Tuscany or
Cavolo Nero which you are recommending.
I already have those!!!
How about the Lacinato? Is it the same thing?

Not quite, but I bet the Black Tuscany is close to
the Lacinato in the group - a subdivision of the
cabbage family. See below.

Pam in Bristol

There are a very large number of variants of this
kale. Dinosaur kale is sometimes called Lacinato
or Lacinato Blue or Toscano - the Italian name for
what we would call Tuscany. This is the one I have
been growing. The colour can vary from green
when young, to a dark green-blue.

I believe Cavalo Nero is Italian for Curly Black.

The University of New Hampshire (US) has done
extensive studies of these variants, including the
nutrients in them. The cabbage family is very
broad and it is divided into different groups with
the Dinosaur/Lacinato/Toscano the most nutritious
group of the family. After some comparisons with
other varieties of kale, they reported that
"Toscano was the best kale with far greater lutein
and carotenoid concentrations than any others."
Oddly, although they extensively research this
family, they don't use the word Dinosaur or
Lacinato. They use Toscano only.

If you are interested, visit http://www.unh.edu/
and type kale into the search box at the top right
corner of the page. They had a PDF showing the
test result details but the
one I downloaded appears to have become corrupted.

Thanks for all that info. It's the lutein I am particularly interested
in. will look at that site.
I once saw an allotment with a similar black Kale, but the leaves were
much broader. The Cavolo Nero I have grown has rather narrow leaves.
Do you think I am not feeding it enough?

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
On Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:26:38 -0700, RF wrote:

Pam Moore wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:40:04 -0700, RF wrote:

The prices they quoted you seem ridiculous.

You should be able to Pam. Thompson and Morgan
(based in UK since about 1850) sells them. They
have a US base too and that's where I bought mine
recently.

In US: http://www.tmseeds.com/ and
In UK: http://www.tmseeds.co.uk/

Thompson & Morgan (UK) Ltd
Poplar Lane
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
IP8 3BU
Customer Ca +44 (0)1473 - 688 821
Switchboard: +44 (0)1473 - 695 200
Fax: +44 (0)1473 - 680 199
Email:
Web Page: http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk
Vat no: 637 8510 20 GB
Company Registration: 358372 England

The following is the US URL for the Kale:

http://www.tmseeds.com/search.html?sterm=kale&x=8&y=6

I have one packet: Kale, Black Tuscany, Cat code 40,
Seed Origin UK, Packed in UK. Average No. seeds 250.
Price was around $3.
The other one is Italian but packed in UK. It
looks the same as the
Tuscany, costs $2.49 and, according the the packet
info, it has an
average of 2,500 seeds!!!

Have fun :-)

Before I had thought of posting here, I was
thinking of replacing 1/2
of last years soil. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks.
I've just re-read your post and see that it is the Black Tuscany or
Cavolo Nero which you are recommending.
I already have those!!!
How about the Lacinato? Is it the same thing?
Not quite, but I bet the Black Tuscany is close to
the Lacinato in the group - a subdivision of the
cabbage family. See below.

Pam in Bristol
There are a very large number of variants of this
kale. Dinosaur kale is sometimes called Lacinato
or Lacinato Blue or Toscano - the Italian name for
what we would call Tuscany. This is the one I have
been growing. The colour can vary from green
when young, to a dark green-blue.

I believe Cavalo Nero is Italian for Curly Black.

The University of New Hampshire (US) has done
extensive studies of these variants, including the
nutrients in them. The cabbage family is very
broad and it is divided into different groups with
the Dinosaur/Lacinato/Toscano the most nutritious
group of the family. After some comparisons with
other varieties of kale, they reported that
"Toscano was the best kale with far greater lutein
and carotenoid concentrations than any others."
Oddly, although they extensively research this
family, they don't use the word Dinosaur or
Lacinato. They use Toscano only.

If you are interested, visit http://www.unh.edu/
and type kale into the search box at the top right
corner of the page. They had a PDF showing the
test result details but the
one I downloaded appears to have become corrupted.

Thanks for all that info. It's the lutein I am particularly interested
in. will look at that site.
I once saw an allotment with a similar black Kale, but the leaves were
much broader. The Cavolo Nero I have grown has rather narrow leaves.
Do you think I am not feeding it enough?

Pam in Bristol

No. the Dinosaur kale generally has strap-like
leaves I have seen them up to
about 3" wide. There are many kinds of kale with
very different characteristics.
We have "curly kale" here and the leaves can be up
to about 6" across but it
sure doesn't have the flavour of the Dino.

RF wrote:
Chris wrote:
On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote:



Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good
crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for
about 9 months.
This year I removed the plants from the pots and
it seems that the roots are only a
fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8"
diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of
nutrients in the old soil.
Last year I bought all the potting soil and now
I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some
of the old soil could be re-used this year with
the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before?
I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings
ready for transplanting. The previous plants had
no diseases and the only bothersome things were
whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north
California.
Comments appreciated.
When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it
prior to planting. Have had good results.
Nan in DE

I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I
have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have
to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10.

Chris

Thanks Chris - that's good to know.


I did some repotting today and found a solution to
my initial question.
I scooped out the soil from last years pots until
there were no more traces
of roots. Usually that was roughly about half the
soil. I refilled with new soil
and transplanted.