For me black Tuscany kale, Cavolo Nero, is about as drawing-friendly as I could wish for. Every line has a built-in wobble to match my default rather shaky pen. It’s got clear structure so I don’t have any problems simplifying a complex mass of foliage.
I think of the colour of black kale as being tinted with purple but I find that a cool green with just a spot of crimson is a reasonable match, with regular yellowish green where the light shines through it. The stems are cream or ivory: a very pale coolish yellow with a hint of green.
Raised Bed no.3
A month ago in raised bed no. 3, we put in lettuce, carrots and black kale, plants from the garden centre.
Some of the lettuces are starting to bolt but the carrots haven’t done much. Carrots aren’t always successful when replanted because of the risk of damage to those delicate tap roots.
The Cavolo Nero was beginning to outgrow the mesh tunnel cloche we’d covered it with to protect it from egg-laying cabbage whites and our ever-hungry wood pigeons.
In my opinion, our pitifully small carrots tasted more wholesome than the shop-bought variety. The freshly-picked leaves of Cavolo Nero were excellent: ‘rich, mellow and autumnal’ would be my attempt to describe the flavour.