Plant 2 to 3 kale seeds in each cell or small peat pots.Ĭover lightly with 1/4 inch planting mix and tap into place. Use a seed planting medium for best results. Plant kale seeds in individual cell or small pots. Find some simple seed starting ideas here. Seeds can be started indoors six to eight weeks before you’re ready to plant them outdoors. If you need to add fertilizer, consider adding an all-purpose organic fertilizer. You can call your local NRSC office or do your own test with a soil test kit if you want to have your soil analysed. Incorporate compostinto the soil also to promote drainage and increase soil fertility. Work wood ashes into the garden soil two weeks before planting to reduce the acidity and increase the alkaline level. Kale is not too picky about soil conditions but grows best in a low-acidic soil with a 5.5 – 6.8 pH level. Find Your Zone:įREE USDA Hardiness Zone Planting Guide Soil Amendments The plants can be grown in-ground or in containers. Select a full-sun location for growing kale during the winter. Kale is a cool-season vegetable and needs relief from the late spring/summer sun. Select a growing location in partial shade all day when planting kale in the summer. Use these tips for planting and growing kale in your home garden. Even if you don’t like the flavor of kale, it will benefit your garden soil and actually makes an ideal cover crop. This leafy green is packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, and boasts several other health-benefiting reasons to grow it and to eat it! (plus, dry it and freeze it!)Ĭrops of kale can be grown year-round in mild climates, or twice a year (spring and fall) in cold climates. Avoid planting near eggplants, peppers, potatoes, or tomatoes, as the acidic soil these plants thrive in can cause problems for Brassicas.Kale is an easy-to-grow superfood that deserves a spot in your garden. Prevent disease with a strict 4-year crop rotation, avoiding planting Brassicas in the same spot more than once every four years.Īll Brassicas benefit from chamomile, dill, mint, rosemary, and sage. Protect from cabbage moths and other insect pests with floating row cover. In spring, the surviving plants start to flower, so eat the delicious flowering steps and buds. In fact, the leaves get sweeter after frost, though growth will slow. Continue harvesting lower leaves as they mature -plants will keep producing all season. Kale can overwinter in many areas. They will re-grow if you pick leaves from the bottom up, as you need them. Kale and collards can both be grown as a cut and come again crop for salad mixes by direct-seeding and cutting baby leaves. Mix ¼ cup of complete organic fertilizer into the soil beneath each transplant, or use 1 cup beneath every 3m (10′) of seed furrow. Drought is tolerable, but quality and flavor of leaves can suffer. This plant prefers plentiful, consistent moisture. Kale likes well-drained, fertile soil high in organic matter. Add lime to the bed 3 weeks prior to sowing. Sow 3-4 seeds 5mm (¼”) deep in each spot you where a plant is to grow. Or start indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost, and transplant out as soon as the soil warms up. Continue reading below for some expert tips on how to grow kale and collards.ĭirect sow in early spring to mid-summer for summer to winter harvests. They are perfect for juicing and a long-lasting green that stores well, delicious in crunchy salads. And the greens even get sweeter after frost. All are easy to grow, vigorous, nutritious, resistant to cold, and easy to harvest and prepare. Kale contains higher levels of beta-carotene than any other green vegetable, and is also high in vitamin C and calcium.
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