Abstract
Kale, Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala, is an important urban crop for human health and may potentially be grown year-round even in a temperate climate. We investigated black plastic and straw mulch compared to bare soil cover in low tunnels at 10 urban garden sites and in low tunnels within a high tunnel in the USA to ascertain the influence on yield and nutrients of Red Russian kale, soil temperature, air temperature, weed pressure, and aphid abundance. Kale had low yield in garden sites, likely because the outside environment was too cold for low tunnels to gain and retain heat. Cultivating kale in a high tunnel resulted in good yields, especially when paired with a low tunnel and plastic or straw mulch, which resulted in the highest air and soil temperatures. The amount of minerals in plants within the high tunnel largely did not vary across combinations of low tunnels and ground covers, except for copper and sulfur, which were lowest in plots with no low tunnel or ground cover. Also, dietary fiber was higher when no low tunnel or ground cover was used compared to plots with a low tunnel and no ground cover. Weeds were suppressed by straw and black plastic mulch, but none of the ground covers influenced aphid abundance. Overall, our work demonstrates that Red Russian kale can be grown in a temperate climate during winter with some combinations of tunnels and ground covers.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Kale yields were low at urban garden sites, possibly because outdoor temperatures were too cold.
- Taxon
- Kale
Brassica oleracea var. viridise0 - Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- lowe0
- Setting
- garden sitese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Kale had low yield in garden sites, likely because the outside environment was too cold for low tunnels to gain and retain heat.”
Claim · model-written summary
High tunnel cultivation gave good kale yields, especially with a low tunnel and plastic or straw mulch.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridise0
- Treatment
- high tunnele0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- goode0
- Qualifier
- low tunnel and plastic or straw mulche0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Cultivating kale in a high tunnel resulted in good yields, especially when paired with a low tunnel and plastic or straw mulch, which resulted in the highest air and soil temperatures.”
Claim · model-written summary
A high tunnel paired with a low tunnel and plastic or straw mulch produced the highest air and soil temperatures.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridise0
- Outcome
- air and soil temperaturese0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Cultivating kale in a high tunnel resulted in good yields, especially when paired with a low tunnel and plastic or straw mulch, which resulted in the highest air and soil temperatures.”
Claim · model-written summary
High tunnel kale mineral content largely did not vary across tunnel and ground cover combinations.
- Taxon
- plantsViridiplantaee0
- Treatment
- combinations of low tunnels and ground coverse0
- Outcome
- amount of mineralse0
- Direction
- did not varye0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“The amount of minerals in plants within the high tunnel largely did not vary across combinations of low tunnels and ground covers”
Claim · model-written summary
Copper and sulfur were lowest in kale plots with neither a low tunnel nor ground cover.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridist0
- Outcome
- copper and sulfure0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Setting
- plots with no low tunnel or ground covere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“kale”
e0“except for copper and sulfur, which were lowest in plots with no low tunnel or ground cover.”
Claim · model-written summary
Kale dietary fiber was higher with neither low tunnel nor ground cover than with a low tunnel and no ground cover.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridist0
- Treatment
- no low tunnel or ground covere0
- Outcome
- dietary fibere0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- plots with a low tunnel and no ground covere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“kale”
e0“dietary fiber was higher when no low tunnel or ground cover was used compared to plots with a low tunnel and no ground cover.”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw and black plastic mulch suppressed weeds in kale plots.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridist0
- Treatment
- straw and black plastic mulche0
- Interactor
- Weedse0weed
- Outcome
- Weedse0
- Direction
- suppressede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“kale”
e0“Weeds were suppressed by straw and black plastic mulch”
Claim · model-written summary
Ground covers did not affect aphid abundance in kale plots.
- Taxon
- kaleBrassica oleracea var. viridist0
- Treatment
- ground coverse0
- Interactor
- aphide0pest
- Outcome
- aphid abundancee0
- Direction
- nonee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“kale”
e0“none of the ground covers influenced aphid abundance”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that tunnel and ground cover combinations can support winter kale production in temperate climates.
Verbatim
e0“Red Russian kale can be grown in a temperate climate during winter with some combinations of tunnels and ground covers.”
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See all 18 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.