Plant · P-195

Sea Kale

Crambe maritima

Sea kale is a stout coastal perennial whose blanched spring shoots are eaten like asparagus, the classic way to grow it. The same plant also gives edible young leaves with a nutty flavor, starchy roots, and edible flower buds, so one clump produces several different harvests across the year. It thrives on poor, well-drained, salty ground and struggles more with wet clay than with any particular soil chemistry. Seed is slow and erratic to germinate, so growers typically start it from root cuttings or a bought crown rather than from seed.