The Big Chill Plant - Kale
Kale is an easy member of the cabbage family to grow.
Fall is the best time for growing kale in areas where winter doesn’t dip below the teens or you could protect your plants in a cold frame, a thick mulch of straw or evening blanket. Just remember to keep your kale plants well-watered. Along with cool temperatures, keeping the soil moist helps kale leaves remain sweet and crisp, rather than tough and bitter. Their major value to gardeners is providing delicious, highly nutritious greens when the weather is far too cold for other vegetables. You can harvest the leaves as needed throughout the winter. Gardeners can wait until September or October before planting. The trick is to time the planting so the kale matures in cold weather. You can sow seeds directly into the soil but if the ground is still too warm – seeds might have a hard time germinating. If that be the case – start in seed in peat pots and wait until the ground is cooler to transplant. About two months before the first frost, transplant the seedlings at 18- to 24-inch spacing. To keep the plants from developing lanky stems and flopping over later in the season, plant the seedlings up to their first leaves. This also ensures stronger root systems.
Kale grows best in a loamy soil that drains well and has been enriched with moderate amounts of organic matter. It will tolerate sandy or clay soils, but the flavor and texture of the leaves will be poor. Kale does require plenty of nitrogen for the best production. Grows best at a pH of about 6.5, although anything within a range of 5.5 to 6.8 is fine. If your soil is acidic, apply crushed calcium limestone or shell limestone to sweeten the soil. Prepare the soil by working in manure-enriched compost, leaf mold, and peat moss. Kale likes the sun, but will tolerate partial shade for a few hours each day.
Since Kale’s roots run horizontally around the plant, it is essential to MULCH. You can use clean straw, compost and even grass clippings. This will keep the soil cool, conserves moisture and makes nutrients available to the feeder roots. Some people have used seaweed mulch with improved yields. Also, boost kale by applying a side dressing of manure tea or diluted fish emulsion when your plants are half grown.
Another great benefit of growing Kale – it’s carefree with few disease and pest problems. Watch for downy mildew and blackrot, but with proper soil preparation and crop rotation you’ll avoid these problems. Flea beetles and aphids are sometimes the biggest problem – just spray with insecticidal soaps if you feel they have taken over.
Frost enhances the flavor. Some of the tastiest kale is harvested under a foot of snow! Never harvest kale until after a hard frost or two. A few freezing nights make all the difference in flavor as the kale plants need a hard frost to transform their starches into natural sugars.
Pluck individual leaves of kale and collards as you need them, counting on one or two leaves for each serving. To keep the plants in production, avoid cutting the developing bud at the center of each plant.
It is one of the most nutritious, delicious and simple greens to grow. Young leaves make a wonderful addition to fresh salads; more mature leaves are great in a stir-fry or as a dressed salad.
Nutritionally speaking, kale has nearly as much iron and more calcium and vitamins A and C than other greens. A cup of cooked kale contains more vitamin C than an eight-ounce glass of orange juice, more calcium than a cup of milk, and more potassium than a banana. All that and only 55 calories!
Different varieties of kale –
There are many varieties of kale, but they are usually grouped by the type of leaf:
• Curly leaved (Scots Kale) • Plain leaved • Rape Kale • Leaf and spear (a hybrid of curly leaved and plain leaved Kale) • Cavolo nero (also known as Tuscan Cabbage, Tuscan (or Toscano) Kale, Lacinato and dinosaur Kale)
