James Flutas

Eating bits of bugs and bug-faeces can be a source of b12.

IIRC, there was an analysis of vegetarians in India, where the more affluent bought the best looking veg and washed them - having higher rates of b12 deficiency than the poor who ate unwashed veg of varying quality with the occasional speck of bug-body/bug-poop in it.

Great apes rely on bugs for b12 and, after all, we're just another great ape but with delusions of grandeur.

Sida rhombifolia / cordifolia is an effective decongestant, its the only medicinal I'd ever bother to grow - handy for every cold and flu.
[Globalized weed, so easy to source]

Su, can I ask how you take cuttings from kale?
Which season, do you root them in a shadehouse?
Thanks

Too hot here, very hot and dry after a wet autumn/winter. Avg of 1 day/year of 2C or less. No frosts here on my property, not since the late 90s.

Kales set seed just fine in the cooler, more southern parts of Australia.

My experience with various varieties of kale has been either shriveled unformed seed-pods after flowering (followed by the plant dying down) or no flowering at all resulting in opportunistic perennialism for 4 or 5 years.
[Extra hardy and productive when perennialized, but leaf quality declines with age and its roots take over a large volume of soil]

Fellow gardeners round here lament the lack of seeds on broccoli and cauliflower more-so than kale, but I'm all about those leafy greens.

Its a well known fact among gardeners around here that kale/collards and other brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower don't set seed in my climate (NNSW, Australia) [borderline Sub-temperate/Sub-tropical].
Kale is still a productive crop though, so growers grudgingly buy seed again and again.

I've recently been pleased to find that 'Georgia Southern Collards' set masses of viable seed with good germination rates, in addition to their giant leaves at which people marvel.
Its also a very hardy plant in regards to our scorching heat and drought.

This may not be news to American permies, but collards are scarcely known and not commonly sold in Oz.
If your in the more tropical parts of the country and can't get your hands on a perennial kale/collard - I'd highly recommend this variety.
[Seed was sourced from eBay - cheap, but very few seeds in a packet]

It seems that light coloured straw, such as rye, lowers day-time soil temperature up to 2 °C more than darker substrates such as buckwheat due to reflection of light and heat.

Mulches and soil temp

The daytime soil cooling effect is increased with higher temperatures (i.e. in the afternoon as opposed to the morning) and the study was done in Poland at lower temperatures, so potentially there are much greater gains to be had in 40+°C .

It might be worth trying a more reflective mulch than brown leaves to deal with scorching summers that crack the clay.

The converse could also be useful for people trying to grow warmth-loving plants in cooler areas.
It seems like it would be easier to work with a thermally absorbent mulch than hauling water/stones/concrete in to provide thermal mass.