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🌱Ever been told to “eat your greens?” Kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables you can grow. It’s crammed with vitamins and powerful antioxidants, and it tastes de-licious. Kale is a hardy cool-season crop that grows best in spring and fall, tolerating frost and even snow. Learn how to plant, grow, and harvest kale.
About Kale
Kale is a cold-hardy, resilient, non-heading green. It’s one of the easiest members of the brassica family to grow (which includes cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and other common cole crops.)
Think beyond grocery store kale; there are so many amazing kale flavors and textures to choose from if you grow your own seed: mild, almost salad-like greens, sweet ‘Red Russian’ kales, or the nutty and sometimes peppery flavors of Italian kales, or handsome ‘Cavalo Nero’ or Tuscan kale, also called dinosaur kale because of its texture.
🌈As well as being extremely nutritious, kale is attractive, coming in a stunning range of varieties, from bright greens to dark purples, crunchy leaves to crinkled beauties, and everything in between. Its ornamental value can be appreciated in traditional garden beds or containers, especially in the fall.
PLANTING
🌱Full sun and fertile, well-drained soil produce the fastest-growing and most tender leaves, though kale will tolerate partial shade as well. Add plenty of compost to the ground before planting and if your soil isn’t especially rich, top up its fertility by working in nitrogen-rich amendments such as blood meal, cottonseed meal, or composted manure into the ground before planting.
When to Plant Kale
Kale tastes best when plants grow rapidly and mature before the heat of summer (before temperatures exceed 75°F/24°C) or after fall frosts occur. Young plants are not seriously damaged by temperatures down to 25°F/-4°C. Mature plants are extremely hardy and can withstand very cold temperatures. However, hot temperatures will slow growth and cause a bitter flavor.
For spring: Whether direct seeding into the soil or transplanting start plants from the nursery, you can plant 4 to 6 weeks before the average last spring frost. Seeds will germinate at soil temperatures as low as 40°F/4°C.
For fall: Select early maturing cultivars and direct-seed 3 months before the first fall frost date. Note: In areas with hot summers, you’ll need to delay sowing until temperatures start to cool off. The cool fall weather really brings out the sweet, nutty flavor of kale which can withstand hard frosts (25–28°F) without experiencing damage.
Kale can also be grown as a winter vegetable under cover or outside in mild winter regions, like the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast. They’ll grow and yield all winter long. We suggest speaking to your local cooperative extension to determine if/when you should plant winter vegetables.
