How to Grow Giant Walking Stick Cabbage

Part of the fun of growing a garden is hunting down unusual varieties for the sheer novelty of trying something new. Giant walking stick cabbage (Brassica oleracae longata), or more commonly called walking stick kale, is an heirloom plant that famously grew on Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France, to be dried and made into sturdy walking sticks for the tourist trade. While the large leaves are edible as greens, they were most often used as cattle feed. The plants, which can reach 7 to 10 feet tall, are an attractive back-of-the-border plant or as a curiosity in the vegetable garden.

Compost
Shovel
10-10-10 fertilizer
High-nitrogen fertilizer
Liquid fertilizer
10-foot garden stakes
Plant ties
Mulch

Instructions

- 1
  Spread and dig in a 2- to 4-inch layer of finished compost and 4 to 6 cups of balanced fertilizer, like a 10-10-10, per 100 square foot over an area of the garden in full sun, on the north side of the garden in an area where they will not be disturbed. Walking stick cabbage needs to stay in place for more than a year to reach its maximum height.
- 2
  Sow seeds 1/4 to 3/4 inches deep -- three times the width of the seed -- 2 inches apart in early spring, when the soil temperature is at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Water in well.
- 3
  Thin seedlings to 4 inches apart after leaves emerge.
- 4
  Transplant the walking stick cabbage when the plants have five to six true leaves, to 30 inches apart on all sides. Set the plants an inch deeper than they were previously growing and firm the soil around the roots.
- 5
  Install a 10-foot-tall stake next to the plant while it is still small to avoid damaging its roots later.
- 6
  Strip the lower leaves away from the plant as it grows, starting when it is about 18 inches tall. You can eat them or just add them to your compost pile. Loosely tie the stalk to the stake with strips of nylon or plant ties as it grows to help it grow straight and to keep the plant from blowing over in the wind.
- 7
  Feed with 1/2 cup of high-nitrogen fertilizer per 10 feet of row four weeks after transplanting.
- 8
  Water plants at their base, keeping soil consistently moist, with 1 to 2 inches of water per week. One watering per week can include diluted liquid all-purpose fertilizer, like Miracle-Gro, applied at a rate of one-third of a capful in 2 gallons of water.
- 9
  Mulch around the base of the plants to help the soil maintain moisture.
- 10
  Cut the roots and upper cluster of leaves off of the plant with loppers or a sharp knife in the fall of their second year. The plant should overwinter where temperatures do not frequently drop below 25 F.
- 11
  Hang the stem in a shed or other dry place where it can be undisturbed for a year. As the stem dries, it hardens and can be varnished for use as a walking stick.

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