Kale
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Kale
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow kale in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How many plants of kale to grow
- Growing conditions for kale
- When to plant kale
- How to plant kale
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning kale
- Companion plantings for kale
- How to harvest, store, and use kale
Growing Kale
Kale is a leafy green, cool-season vegetable. Either curly edged or smooth, plants grow to 2 ft. (60 cm) tall, with blue, gray, green, white, yellow, or red-veined leaves. Kale is a cole-family vegetable. [See also: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Collards.]
Kale’s distinctive, sweet, cabbagelike taste improves after the chill of early frosts. Use kale raw in salads and slaws, deep fry slices as kale chips, stir-fry kale greens in Asian dishes, serve it steamed or lightly sautéed in butter, or chop it as a flavorful addition to braised meats, soups, and stews.
Kale Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 4–5 plants per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 10–14 days.
Summer–Autumn Gardens: Sow seed in spring when soil warms to 55–75°F (13–24°C), or set out transplants from April–August for harvest in summer–autumn.
Winter–Spring Gardens: Sow seed from May–July or transplants from June–August for harvest in winter–spring.
Sow seed or set out seedlings in full–partial sun. Sow seed 1/4-in. (6-mm) deep, 1 in. (25 mm) apart, thinning to 1 ft. (30 cm) apart, in rows 2 ft. (60 cm) apart. Set out seedlings 12–16 in. (30–40 cm) apart, in rows 2 ft. (60 cm) apart.
Plant successions every 3–4 weeks.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 45–75°F (7–24°C). Best in mild-summer climates. Protect plants from heat, sun at temperatures above 80°F (27°C); from freezing at temperatures below 10°F (–12°C). Kale is generally tolerant of even hard frosts.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Fertility: Average. 5.5–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep. Rotate plantings with legumes to avoid nitrogen depletion.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize only when signs of deficiency occur. Mulch every 2 months with organic compost; when plants are 6 in. (15 cm) tall, apply loose straw around stems. Cultivate. Inspect frequently for foliage damage or egg clusters on underleaves due to larvae of white cabbage butterfly; wash infested plants with dilute soap solution to remove and kill the eggs. Aphid, cabbage looper, cabbageworm, cutworm, root maggot and powdery mildew susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Beets, celery, herbs, onions, and potatoes.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
55–75 days. Begin harvesting when plants reach 8–10 in. (20–25 cm) tall, thinning outer leaves, leaving the central growth bud to resprout. Cut stalks 2 in. (50 mm) above the soil when plants mature, before bolting, leaving their roots; in mild climates, the roots will sprout in 1–2 weeks, growing a new plant.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 1–2 weeks; blanched and frozen, 6 months. Remove the leaves’ middle ribs before eating, reserving them for dicing into soups, stews.