Russian Hunger Gap Kale Seeds

An extremely tender kale, Russian Hunger Gap is great for baby-salad-greens and also has delectably tender mature leaves. It is a Red Russian type of kale known for mild flavor and tenderness. Dazzling blue-green leaves have red-purple veins and moderate frills that are pretty enough for your front yard! Russian kale is desirable in the kitchen, where its tenderness shines in any cooked-kale dish. We obtained seeds from our friends at Adaptive Seeds of Sweet Home, Oregon, who rescued it from the Heritage Seed Library in England. It is named “Hunger Gap” because it can produce kale raab (edible shoots) from overwintered plants in May when there ain’t much local food to eat! We are working on a project to re-select it for cold hardiness survival through our frigid Michigan winters. From a spring planting, Russian Hunger Gap provides a continuous supply of kale until winter. It is one of the best crops for fall baby greens because it is fast growing – try it in a cold frame or low tunnel.