Kale is a superfood because of its nutrient-rich leaves, as well as a rewarding vegetable that anyone can grow at home. Whether in a big garden, raised bed, or even in a balcony box, kale plants do adapt well and offer you a continuous yield.
Follow these instructions on how to grow kale at home, even if you’ve never grown them before, and enjoy fresh kale straight from your garden.
Kale: The Basics
Kale comes from the Brassica family, the same as its cousins like cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Given it being easy to cultivate and favoring cold climates, kale seems to be one of the oldest crops ever cultivated by human beings. This green leafy vegetable does exist in both curly and flat-leafed forms, as well as an ornamental form, differing by taste and appearance.
Why Grow Kale?
Kale boasts its grade as a superfood simply because of the fact that it’s power-packed with many vitamins and minerals. Kale is rich in nutrients like vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron, and antioxidants. Growing kale on your own allows you to always be sure of getting fresh produce out of this nutrient-rich vegetable.
Choosing the Right Kale Variety
Popular Kale Varieties
One of the very first decisions in growing kale is of course, the type of kale you intend to plant. There are many types of kale, all with different characteristics. Curly kale might be described as the most recognizable with its ruffled leaves, curly in nature. Lightly peppered and crunchy in texture, it’s great for salads and chips. Another popular cultivar is the lacinato kale, also referred to as dinosaur kale, featuring dark blue-green leaves that indeed resemble reptilian skin and a solid earthy flavor that makes it a staple in many Italian dishes.
The Red Russian kale has flat leaves, almost red-purplish in color, while being milder in flavor compared to Curly kale. If you garden in cold climates, choose the Siberian kale, which really is cold hardy. This is an extremely hardy variety, and the tender leaves are at their sweetest after a frost.
There are also ornamental kale, which are used as culinary garnishment in place of parsley. Although still edible, they aren’t really eaten and mainly just used as “ornaments” to decorate dishes (or gardens) due to their rich coloration.
Bottom line: Consider your local climate and your purpose for planting when choosing a kale cultivar.
Preparing Your Garden
Selecting the Best Site
While it will tolerate a little shade, kale does like full sun. Because of this, select the site receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. When growing in a container, the pot needs to be large enough—at least 12 inches deep—and should also face toward the sun.
Preparing the Soil
Kale prefers rich, well-drained soil having a pH range of 6.0-7.5. Here are the steps on how to prepare your soil:
- Clear the planting space: Make sure the planting space is free of weeds or debris/rubbish. Start with a clean bed because weeds compete with your kale for resources.
- Add Organic Matter: This should be working into the soil, to a depth 2-3 inches. Organic compost or well-rotted manure can be used.
- Test the pH: Kale prefers slightly alkaline soil. You can test the pH by using a home test kit. If it is too acidic mix in some garden lime to raise the pH.
- Rake the Soil: Finally, add compost to the soil, adjust its pH if need be, and then rake the bed to achieve a smooth and even area for planting.
Sowing and Planting Kale
Starting Seeds Indoors
Starting kale seeds indoors will give you an advantage over nature, getting a jump on the growing season so you have strong and hardy seedlings ready for your garden when it finally warms up. Start the seeds six to eight weeks indoors before the last expected frost date in your area, filled with seed starting mix in seed trays or small pots. The seeds should lie only about ¼ inch deep and be lightly covered with soil.
Water the trays very slightly to keep the soil just moist but not waterlogged. Place it in a sunny window or under grow lights for sufficient light. Grow lights can help in developing strong stems with bright green leaves on seedlings, in case sunlight is inadequate.
The right time to transplant your seedlings outside into your garden would be when the locally prevalent weather has warmed up consistently to 45°F/7.2°C and when your seedlings come up with two or three proper leaves. A week prior to transplanting, seedlings need to be gradually acclimatized—the process of sitting outside in the weather for gradually longer and longer periods of time.
Direct Sowing Outdoors
Of course, it is better to directly plant the kale seeds in your garden. Make sure you follow these steps for the best growth of your seeds. Sow directly outside: 2-4 weeks before last spring frost, or about 10 weeks prior to first fall frost (late summer). At sowing time, plant seeds ¼” deep in rows 18 to 24 inches apart. Close the seeds with a thin layer of soil and lightly water it to set the soil. Continue allowing the seeds to grow and then thin out the seedlings until they are spaced 12 to 18 inches apart when they are about 2 inches tall. This allows each seedling room to flourish to full size.
Caring for Your Kale Plants
Watering
Kale does want constant moisture, however, it hates sitting in water. Water your plants regularly to achieve a total of about 1-1.5 inches per week. Mulching at the base enables the plants to retain soil moisture and cool the soil around the roots.
Fertilizing
Kale, therefore, is a heavy feeder, and constant feeding will do well for its proper growth. Add a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, every 6-8 weeks or side-dress with compost or well-rotted manure. Shy away from high amounts of nitrogen that would more than likely wash out your plants in lush, leafy foliage with less flavor.
Pest and Disease Management
While kale itself is usually a pretty hardy plant, it still falls prey to many pests and diseases. Common pests would mostly comprise aphids, cabbage worms, and flea beetles. Here are some helpful tips on how to deal with these:
- Row Covers: Apply floating row covers over plants to protect them from pests; this of course is more important in earlier growth stages.
- Handpicking: Keep checking your plants continuously for the presence of pests. These will have to be removed with hand-picking.
- Natural Insecticides: Control serious pest infestations by treating with natural insecticides such as neem oil.
Kale is also susceptible to diseases such as downy mildew or clubroot. Crop rotation will end these by not planting kale or brassicas in the same spot every year. Adequate spacing, allowing for good air circulation, and avoiding overhead watering may help in preventing disease as well.
Harvesting Kale
When to Harvest
Kale leaves are ready to harvest when they reach about hand size; this is approximately the 55-75 day growth phase. It can be harvested throughout the growing season, even into winter, because adult kale resists frost.
How to Harvest
Kale can be harvested in two distinct ways, both with their merits, depending on what you are aiming at in your garden. The most usual one is cut-and-come-again harvesting. Only the outer leaves should be removed at the base, and the middle part of the plant, from where it grows, must be left intact.
It’s this central meristem that allows it to keep producing new leaves continually—under management, of course—for continuous harvest over months. You can also have a whole-plant harvesting system in place, meaning instead of removing leaves sporadically, you would go in and cut the entire plant right at the base of the stem, which gives one larger harvest.
Storing Kale
Freshly harvested kale may be refrigerated for a week. Place the leaves one by one in a plastic bag, also including a damp paper towel so that the entire process helps it to stay fresh for a longer time. Otherwise, it can also be frozen if you blanch the kale first.
Extending the Harvest
How to Grow Kale Year-Round
One of the great advantages of kale is near year-round production—only a little planning is required. Here’s how to enjoy kale from your garden throughout the seasons:
To grow during spring and summer, start kale seeds indoors very early in the season, then move them outside once the threat of frost has passed. For continuous harvest during their growing cycle, simply sow new seeds every few weeks. Kale does grow very well during cool weather, so to get some from fall and winter, plant late in the summer and keep on harvesting into winter. Kale even sweetens in flavor after a frost.
Use row covers, cloches or cold frames to extend the harvest season. The very hardy varieties, like ‘Siberian Kale’ can withstand winter with minimal protection. With row covers, cold frames or by bringing containers indoors over the cold months, kale can even be grown as far north as zone 2 or 3 areas where winters are extremely harsh. Some cold-hardy types can thus stay in the garden under snowfall and be harvested at will.
Perennial Kale Varieties
Grow perennial kale varieties, like ‘Daubenton’s’ or ‘Taunton Deane’, which will last several years, so you’ll never have to stop picking. These cultivars are very low maintenance and thus form an interesting addition to any garden.
Enjoying Your Kale
Kale isn’t just super good for you; it’s amazingly versatile in the kitchen. Here are some tasty ways to get your homegrown kale onto your table:
Kale can be consumed in several ways. Place the raw baby kale leaves with greens, fruits, nuts, and light dressing in salads. Sauté chopped kale with garlic, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and finish with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Add a handful to smoothies for some extra vitamins. Kale enriches flavor and nutrition in soups and stews—perfect in minestrone-like soups because it is hardy. For a healthy snack, bake kale chips by tossing leaves in olive oil and sprinkling them with salt. Bake them until crispy.
Conclusion
Clearly, it is easy, and at the same time, very rewarding to grow kale at home. A vegetable with unsurpassed capacity for growth almost anywhere and health-enhancing properties easily make kale a must-have in any vegetable garden.
Whether grown directly in the ground, using raised beds, or containers, homegrown kale will deliver you a steady stream of fresh and nutritious greens throughout the year. So go ahead, slip on those gardening gloves, and grow that kale. Your body—and taste buds—will thank you!
