Kale is a versatile veggie, that is packed with nutrients, and can be used in many ways around the kitchen. From stir-fries to smoothies, this leafy green vegetable is an amazing addition to any garden, whether you grow it in containers on your balcony, or in a raised bed at home.
A Quick Summary
Kale is a biennial that is part of the brassica family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower). It is a cool season crop that grows best in the spring and fall, but will also produce during the summer season. Kale is easy to grow, is great for beginners and can be grown in containers or in raised gardens.
Varieties
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There are many different varieties of kale on the market, including Curly, Ornamental and Russian varieties. Our personal favourite, pictured on the right, and pictured in most of this blog is Red Russian kale because it is sweet, easy to grow and doesn’t get a lot of pest damage!
Two specific varieties that we recommend include Lacinato and Red Russian.
Sun Requirements
Kale can grow in part to full sun. Since kale is a cold hardy plant, they do not like the hot heat of the summer, so planting in a place where it gets afternoon shade will help it grow longer throughout the season.
Soil Preferences
Kale enjoys soil high in organic matter and nutrients. Plant in soil with good drainage, as kale likes to be watered regularly, but shouldn’t be drowned. Since kale is grown for it’s leaves, fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen will help support the growth of the plant.
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How to Plant Kale Seeds
Kale is really easy to grow from seed. It’s often grown as microgreens to be eaten for their nutritional value, and are grown to about the size shown in the photo above. They are that simple to grow and can be eaten in just a couple of weeks, or within 50 days of being planted outside!
To plant, sow kale seeds 5mm (1/4″) deep and water them well. You can plant seeds together in one container (like the photo above) or in separate, small plant cells.
Because kale is a cold season crop, you do not need to place the seeds on a heat mat. You also don’t need a dome to germinate the seeds, however using one will speed up the germination rate considerably.
Once the plants grow their first true leaf (also shown in the photo above) you can separate plants into their own cells.
Caring for Seedlings
Kale seedlings have quite large root systems, so upgrading them regularly will help push along their growth.
Keep the seedlings under grow lights until you are ready to plant them out. When you’re ready to plant your seedlings out, make sure to harden them off properly.
Kale can handle frost, so you are able to plant them out before your last frost date. If you are growing under cover, kale can go out when nights are -4°C or warmer – BUT if you are feeling experimental, you can even try and plant it out sooner!
Continue your garden learning:
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- Drowning in Kale? Here are 9 Ways to Use Your Harvest!
- How to Grow Bush Beans from Seed to Harvest
How to Plant Kale Seedlings
The nice thing about kale is that it can be grown in a container or a garden, so it’s a great plant regardless of what you grow in!
When planting outdoors, plant them at the same depth as they are in their pot. We highly recommend planting them out before your last frost date, because you will get to harvest food long before people are even considering planting outdoors!
If you plan to harvest the leaves when they are smaller, you can plant kale closer together, just 4 inches apart (or 4 per square foot). We like to plant our veg really close together (shown in the picture above) and we grow healthy, large leaves on our plant. This is 6 kale plants in an area that is just under 2 feet x 1 foot. Below is a leaf that was harvested from one of the plants, to show you the size of leaf they are able to grow to.
If you want to grow larger kale plants, space them out to about 12 inches apart to allow them space to grow.
Watering Kale
Kale is slightly drought resistant, but it can affect the taste of the leaves, making them more bitter. For the best taste, water your plants regularly, and especially in the heat of the summer.
Harvesting Kale
What we love about kale is that it is a “cut and come again” plant. What this means is that you can harvest the outer leaves of the plant, while leaving the roots intact to continue growing new leaves. In the photo above you can see where we have harvested already, and the leaves that we have left on the plant to continue growing.
Ways to Enjoy Kale
There are many ways you can enjoy kale, either fresh, cooked or later in the winter.
Some of our favourite ways to eat kale include; frying it in foods such as breakfasts or stir-fries, baked into kale chips or blended into smoothies. You can also eat kale as a fresh salad (but we recommend massaging the leaves first), or you can freeze or dehydrate it into kale powder to add to smoothies later in the year when the growing season has ended!
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Common Pests & Problems
Cabbage Moth
The most common pest with kale is the cabbage moth. This is a white, daytime flying moth that is commonly seen in backyards and around gardens. They lay their eggs on the underside of the kale leaves, which hatch into caterpillars that eat the leaves. In the photo above, on the left, there are two caterpillars that are inside each of those red circles. They are quite camouflaged and difficult to see.
There are 2 easy ways you can identify if you have cabbage worms. The first is looking at the kale leaves. If you notice parts of the leaf have been eaten off, it is a good identifier of cabbage worms. The second is frass, or insect poop that accumulates in the centre of the plant, circled in red in the photo on the right.
If you find caterpillars on your plants, just remove them from the plant and the damage will stop. You can still eat the leaves of the plant!
Birds
Although not a major pest, birds may eat your kale plants. Specifically American Goldfinches will sample on your kale. Again, this isn’t a major issue, but something worth noting.
To stop cabbage moths and birds from eating your plants, you can cover them in insect netting. Make sure that the insect netting isn’t resting directly on the leaves, because the moths can still lay eggs on your plants if they can touch the leaves.
Aphids
Aphids can infest your brassica plants, including kale. It is a lot easier to clean aphids off of kale in comparison to other brassica that have tighter leaves (such as cabbage), however they are still a nuisance.
If you find aphids on your kale, wash them off with water from the hose, and do this daily until you don’t find any more of them on your plant. It’s important to clean your plants as aphids reproduce extremely fast and will become a major issue if left unmanaged.
Extending the Season
Since kale is so tolerant of the cold, you can extend your growing season beyond your last and first frost date. Under cover, we have successfully grown kale outdoors 6 weeks before our last frost date, and 5-6 weeks past our first frost date.
Ways to extend your season is by growing kale under cover such as frost cloth, poly hoop tunnels, or in cold frames (pictured above). The photo of the cold frame is a perfect example of how well kale grows in the off season. The glass is covered in icy snow, but the leaves under the window are perfectly happy and green.
The picture above shows you both a cold frame, on the far left, and a hoop house on the long bed. This garden has broccoli and frost cloth on it, but it shows you how you can make your garden cover to extend the season. Instead of using frost cloth, you can use 6 mil poly to protect your crops.
All three season extenders mentioned above are easy to create and are not expensive to own.
Saving Seeds
Saving seeds from kale is simple, if your kale goes to seed. Kale is a biennial which means that it seeds on its second year of growth.
If your plant survives through the winter, it will likely go to seed the next spring. When it does, it will put up a flower stalk, and once the flowers are pollinated, seed pods will appear. The seed pods are long and slender (almost like a bean) and will be filled with seeds.
To save the seeds, wait until the seed pod has browned and dried out on the plant, and then you can collect the seed pods.
Two items to note, if your kale variety is a hybrid, you shouldn’t save seeds from this plant as it won’t grow new plants that are the same as what you saved from. The second item is, if your kale bolts (goes to flower prematurely) in the same season you are growing it, don’t save seeds from this plant as the new plants will also be more likely to go to seed prematurely.
Other than that, saving seeds is simple!
