Germinating Sea Kale (Crambe maritima)

I was wondering if anyone has tried germinating sea kale from seed? I have read that nicking or squashing the seeds are necessary/desirable to help germination.

I planted mine out in a seed tray with compost about 3 weeks ago, but I have seen no signs of sprouting yet. I will be trying out the nick/squash method with some left over seeds and let you know how it turns out.

cheers.

i cracked mine between two boards and 3 out of 9 germinated. planted them in the garden yesterday. Hope they keep growing!

Thanks Kris.

After taking another look at the seeds, there is a very thick outer shell. I cracked some under a spoon an board (I accidently smashed the seed for one), and some I nicked with scissors.

See how these ones fair.

I soaked mine in water for 24 hours (with 3 or 4 changes of water).

I then kept them damp on paper towel, giving them a rinse off twice a day. Around 3 weeks later one of the 10 had germinated.

Unfortunately I then went away for a few days and my mum "tidied up". I didn't crack or scratch any of them, and was hopeful for more of them germinating.

It sounds like propogating from root cuttings is the prefered method with these.

Thanks for the thread! I have been seeing Sea Kale seeds for sale and was ready to buy some but I guess I'd better do more research first. I didn't know how much I didn't know!