​But First...

Kale is the most nutritious leafy-green we grow.

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According to nutritiondata.self.com, kale is "a good source of dietary fiber, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese".

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Whoa..., this is one healthy plant, raw and cooked. We and our family grow and eat armloads of it. (We gonna live fo-eva!)

 

Varieties We Grow

​We've had excellent success with Red Russian (50 days). It's disease-resistant & very productive. The young tender leaves are delicious in salads. It's also excellent steamed and stir-fried with chopped garlic and tamari. In the garden, slugs chomp at it, but it just keeps coming back and is good right through the winter.

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Lacinato (65 days). Tender when the weather is cool; tough in the hot weather. Frost hardy.

 

Getting Started

In the first week of April, sow seeds 1/2 inch deep and 4 inches apart in a sunny location in well-cultivated compost-amended soil. When the plants sprout up to about 6 inches tall, thin them to 2 feet apart. We protect the thinned seedlings with plastic collars and floating row cover, just as we do the cabbage family; but in our experience, Kale is a match in strength for any pest. Even chomped practically to the ground, the little kales keep coming back. Their tenacity must be a result of their vitamin & mineral content.

 

Caring for Kale

Keep the soil moist. Weed and slug-hunt regularly. Mulch during hot weather to conserve moisture.

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Harvesting Your Kale

Leaf by leaf, outside leaves first, all through the growing season, right through the winter. Leave a couple of plants to flower the following spring, and you can fight it out with the birdies for some seeds. BTW, birds are messy when they're attacking seed pods & seeds get scattered around your garden. That's why you'll find little kale plants popping up in the strangest places.

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Companion Plants for Kale

Onions, rosemary, sage, dill and nasturtiums make good companions for kale. Their aromas deter insect pests and their flowers attract beneficial predatory insects. To further deter pests by confusing them, don't plant kale and cabbage family plants in the same area of your garden every year. Rotate your crops.

 

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