Kale

Kale Growing Information

Kale is a cabbage relative that is classified as Brassica oleracea. It is essentially a form of cabbage that doesn’t have the tightly formed head associated with most cabbages. A powerhouse of nutrients, kale is usually grouped in the cooking greens category with collards, mustard, and Swiss chard. Kale plants can be quite ornamental, with textured and curly leaves that come in shades of green, purple, and other colours. The plants are usually considered a cool-season vegetable and can handle some frost once they’re mature.

Kale is easy to grow from seeds either directly planted in the garden soil or started indoors and then transplanted. It is also commonly planted from nursery starts. Kale grows equally well in raised garden beds and containers if you’re short on garden space. It can be grown as a cut-and-come-again vegetable, meaning you harvest what you need while the plant continues to grow. So you might require only a few kale plants, depending on how often and how much you’d like to harvest.

The optimal soil temperature for planting kale is 15 to 19 degrees C. All varieties prefer cool temperatures and will be sweetened by a touch of frost. Hot weather turns kale bitter.