Peg Lotvin, the former director of the Gardiner Library in Gardiner, NY was the first member of the Seed Library since she was the one who gave me the green light when I asked if I could add seeds to the library catalog. It was largely her seed collection that populated the Seed Library in the beginning. She has been an enthusiastic and consistent member over the last five years. Last fall, she returned 1/4 lb of Red Winter Kale seeds to the library, enough for 50 packs! With this return, she also became the first member to return a biennial variety to the library. She had to overwinter her crop in order to collect these seeds.

Here is her write up of the kale she grew:

Red Winter Kale Brassica oleracea var. fimbriata

"No need to wait all summer into fall for frost sweetened kale. Red Winter Kale is a rare strain of Red Russian Kale that is tender and sweet throughout the growing season. Throw a pinch of seed into any mesclun mix to add color and texture to spring salads. Red Winter has dusky green oak leaf shaped leaves with purplish red stems and veins that turn bright green when steamed for a healthy tender vegetable @ 48 calories per cup. Red Winter is loaded with 100% MDR or Vitamins A and C, 13% of your MDR calcium and a great source of Vitamin E, glucosinolates and manganese. In addition it makes a dramatic statement in your garden with its multistemmed deeply cut and frilled purple accented leaves.... and just as cold-hardy as any other kale."

100 seeds per pack.