February 10… It's a bright sunny morning in our Alta Heights garden in Napa. Sweet peas planted in early November are reaching for the fence. Garlic planted in front of the sweet peas are shooting up. 

Several years ago a generous master gardener brought a tree kale in a gallon container to our seminar. Mine has grown to 5 ft. or so and the leaves are shades of deep gray- green and purple and magenta. It is a beautiful plant. Tree kale is a perennial. There has been increased interest in growing perennial vegetables as an action to mitigate climate change.

One of these benefits is reduced soil erosion. Perennial plants develop a greater root mass than an annual crop and protect the soil year-round. Another benefit of perennials is reduced chemical runoff. Perennial plants also conserve water better than annuals plants. Annual crops lose more water than perennials meaning they demand more irrigation. Another logical feature of perennial crops is that it uses less fuel and energy to produce. My regular kale and chard thrive in this cool weather as well.