Generous heads of vivid burgundy-coloured, deeply-crinkled leaves on a statuesque plant that looks good enough to plant in the ornamental border. The colour intensifies to deep purple with cold, and this is a fine plant for the winter veg garden, shrugging off frosts and continuing to produce its delicious young leaves right through the coldest months.
Growing instructions:
Sow direct into drills in a well-prepared seed bed in spring and thin seedlings to 5cm apart as they grow. When they reach about 15cm tall, transplant to their final growing site leaving about 45cm between plants. Keep well-watered and protect from pigeons until established: cut young leaves from the crown of the plant once they reach about 10-15cm long. Cut the whole crown out at once and leave to grow on and you'll get a secondary crop of tender, broccoli-like shoots just beneath the cut.
Eventual height:
0.6m
Eventual spread:
0.6m
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil