I've done this by accident, but I did not keep records and now I am not sure how to do it on purpose :).

Sometimes, after my brassicas set seed and I harvest the seeds and cut the plants down to the ground, they resprout happily. They immediately start flowering again, and if I want more seed I let them. Otherwise I keep the flower buds cut off but leave the leaves.

Sometimes this results in a plant that lives through the summer, and, when fall comes, stops trying to flower and goes back to just making leaves. It becomes a good producer of winter vegies. I've had Tuscan and regular kale do this, and collards, and broccoli. (The broccoli makes a few small flower heads through the winter, and a lot of leaves. Then in spring it's ready to really produce!)

But sometimes they just die. What makes the difference? My guess is it's the timing of when I cut them back, although it could just be genetic variation, or soil, or who knows. Do any of you all know?

In general, many plants will go 'vegetative' again if you cut them back before they flower.

Right now I have 3 types of kale that are 1 year+

The first is a tree collard - so that's expected to live 5 years. The others are lacinato & standard curly green kale. All three are now enjoying their second winter with lush growth. The tree collard has been flowering and now the lacinato is about to flower.

I was told to take cuttings when the tree collard goes to flower, so I snipped them and have a bunch in a rooting mix (peat, fine woody compost & potting soil). I don't see any roots yet, but none of the small leaves have wilted, so I think they will do fine. There are also another bunch of florets coming up, so I guess I'll take more cuttings. I could eat them like broccoli, but I'd rather make more plants. I could't resist to let at least few flowers go to seed, even though these are generally propagated vegetatively.

What I really want to do is hybridize the tree collards with the lacinato, to improve the taste of the tree collards. Now it looks like they will both be flowering at the same time, so I might just have a chance at it...

I have a regular collards plant that's in its 5th year, IIRC. It was not sold as tree collards (I can go find the seed packet if you really want to know the variety.)

It was ten feet tall when blooming. I cut it back... it's about 4 feet tall and wide at the moment. Just hitting its spring leafy growth surge.

Anyway, the point of my rambling is that if you like the taste of non-tree collards better, I think you can get 5 years and large size from them just fine :).

Hmm.. cutting back *before* blooming, you say?

I recently received some fruits from a 4-year old cherry tomato that I will look to breed for perennial characteristic. My basic thinking is I want as many perennial fruits and veggies as possible, because I never seem to get around to sowing everything I want to on an annual basis.

Other folks: What is your experiences with growing brassicas as perennials? When do you cut them back?

Kevin

I've never used BT for brassicas and have only ever had a couple of plants set back by moths.

I wonder if it's a matter of climate? Brassicas are a main crop here for about 9 months of the year, the cool season. They don't do a lot in the summer, but the air space and water that they use is low then, too. I go ahead and crowd them with cucurbits :).

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Probably. Though California produces about 90% of the nation's broccoli, the majority isn't grown in SoCal. It's a desert here. Don't get me wrong -- I get a pretty good harvest while it's going, I just find it easier and more economical to keep it as an annual, cool season crop -- less moths, less water, frees up space for my "warm" crops. Planting lasts 6 months, so I can still have my broccoli and cauli for most of the year. Kale, on the other hand is a perennial. Collards usually bolt in the summer. Bok choy is a crapshoot. ;)

Kevin

I'm really surprised no-one seems to have an answer to my question. I thought I was just ignorant of a common practice, but am I actually reblazing old, forgotten trails? Surely not new ones?

No. The kale just goes into a dormancy-type growth at which time I pull them. I imagine if I kept watering them, They'd start right back up when it cooled down a tad. But like I said, between the price of water and BT and then the limited space, I pull em and start again. Seeds are cheap. While I do enjoy the fact that I can have peppers and tomatoes et al much longer than most, I don't go out of my way TOO much to extend a harvest pass the normal growing seasons for my climate.

Kevin