Bayou Kale

Bayou kale is a mid-maturing forage brassica with good winter hardiness, a smooth leaf, and a nutty flavor that is sweet to human taste. This kale variety has a smaller stem but grows to a height of 8 feet when taken for seed production. Bayou has excellent regrowth when rotationally grazed, and the stems are more palatable than forage rapes for cattle and sheep. Used in food plots for deer as well as upland game birds, animals will eat the Bayou first when planted beside Dwarf Essex rapeseed. When planted in late summer or early fall, it is considerably more winter-hardy than radishes and helps control erosion. The spring green-up of Bayou kale is similar to forage rapes, while its seed size and crop management are similar to other brassicas, like turnips. Seed should be planted at 5-6 lbs/ac when planted as a single species and 1-2 lbs/ac when mixed with other crops. Planting of Bayou kale should occur July-September for the Midwest and September-October for the south.