Starting a Vegetable Garden | Container Vegetable Gardening | Early Spring Vegetables | Fall Vegetable Gardening | Vegetable Gardening in Warm Climates | Vegetables A to Z

 

Overview:

Kale is a leafy vegetable in the Brassica or cole crop family It is usually grouped into the "Cooking Greens" category with collards, mustard and Swiss chard, but it is actually more of a non-heading cabbage.  The leaves grow from a central stem that elongates as it grows.

Kale is a powerhouse of nutrients and can be used as young, tender leaves or fully grown.

The plants can be quite ornamental, with leaves that can be curly or tagged, purple or shades of green. It is considered a cool season crop and can handle some frost, when mature.

Botanical Name:

Brassica oleracea Acephala Group

Common Name(s):

Kale, Borecole

Hardiness Zones:

Kale is a biennial, that is usually grown as an annual. It will over-winter in most zones, with adequate protection, but will collapse after heavy frosts or snow. It can be grown throughout the winter in USDA Zones 7 - 9, if winters are mild and there is adequate water.

Mature Size:

The size of plants will vary with the variety, but most can get about 2 ft. tall with a 1 - 3 ft. spread.

Exposure:

Since kale is grown for its leaves, not flowers, it can handle full sun to partial shade. Sun exposure is just one factor in growing healthy kale plants. They can handle more sun, if they are given plenty of water to cool the soil. Partial shade will be required if the weather is warm and dry.

Days to Harvest:

You can harvest a few young leaves, but expect to wait approximately 2 months, for mature palnts from seed.

Harvesting:

You can harvest very young leaves to use fresh in salads or allow plants to mature and use as a cooked green. Harvest older leaves by removing the larger, outer leaves and allowing the center of the plant to continue producing. Kale will be good throughout the summer months, but especially good after a frost.

If you need to store picked kale, place it in the refrigerator and keep it moist but not sealed. It can retain it’s crispness this way for a week or two.

Suggested Varieties:

Its hard to find a bad tasting kale. The curly-leaved varieties tend to hang on longer in cold weather, but can be slower to get established than the flat-leaved types.

‘Hanover Salad’ Fast grower and early producer. Nice for fresh use.

‘Lacinato’ - This is the puckered heirloom kale from Tuscany. It is sometimes listed as Tuscan or dinosaur kale. The thick leaves are hardy enough to harvest after a snowfall.

'Redbor' - Magenta leaves with curly edges give this kale a mild, crispy flavor and texture.

'Red Russian' - One of my favorites, Red Russian has smooth, tender leaves with purple veins and edges. It is especially slug resistant.

‘Vates’ - A dwarf, curly bluish green kale that is both heat and cold tolerant. It is derived from ‘Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch’.
 

Kale Growing Tips:

Soil: Kale plants like to grow in a rich soil, high in organic matter with a slightly acidic pH (5.5 - 6.5 pH). You’re growing it for the foliage, so the high nitrogen content provided by organic matter is crucial.

The optimal soil temperature for planting is 60 - 65 degrees F. All varieties prefer cool temperatures and will be sweetened by a touch of frost. Hot weather turns kale bitter.

Planting: Kale can be direct seeded in the garden or started indoors and set out as transplants. Start plants indoors about 6 weeks before your last expected frost date. Kale seeds germinate quickly in warm soil and should be up within 5 - 8 days.

Cover seeds with about ½ in. of soil and don’t allow the seeds to dry out before germinating. Plants will grow more slowly outdoors than indoors under lights.

Transplant seedlings after danger of frost. Set plants out with about 16 in. spacing between plants. This gives them room to spread out and still allows for air circulation.

You can direct seed in cold climates, in the spring, as soon as the soil can be worked and the soil temperature is at least 45 F. Kale matures quickly, in about 2 months or less, so if you prefer you can start your plants later or even plant multiple crops by succession planting.

In warm climates, kale can be direct seeded in late summer / early fall, as well as in the spring. A winter crop of kale in warmer climates can be much sweeter than a summer crop.

Maintenance: Keep your kale plants well watered.. Along with cool temperatures, moist soil helps keep kale leaves sweet and crisp, rather than tough and bitter.

Side dressing throughout the growing season with compost or feeding with some type of high nitrogen fertilizer (the first number on the fertilizer label), like fish emulsion, will keep your kale growing. Mulching  under the plants will keep the soil cool and moist, the way kale likes it.

Pests: Kale is a member of the cabbage family, with is notorious for rot diseases and attracting insect pests. Kale is less prone to problems than cabbage or broccoli, but it can be susceptible to: black rot and club root as well as aphids, cabbage loopers, cabbageworm, cutworms, flea beetles and slugs. The best defense is to monitor the plants often, for signs of eggs or feeding. Be sure you know which pest is in evidence and treat accordingly.