Growing Kale, also Borecole

Brassica oleracea sp. : Brassicaceae / the mustard or cabbage family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  S                    
    T T T              
    P P P              

(Best months for growing Kale in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 20 - 39 inches apart
  • Harvest in 7-10 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, camomile)
  • Avoid growing close to: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chilli, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard

Your comments and tips

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08 Apr 19, Martha Wilkins (USA - Zone 13a climate)
I live in Gilbert Arizona, on my East side my planter I just built gets sun till 1:00 then the house shades it. Is it ok for black Kale ... With a shade cloth...
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31 Mar 19, Celeste (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I live in the Eastern Cape and find it extremely difficult to get my hands on ornamental kale seeds or seedlings. Please give me advice on hour to procure these. Thank you
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29 Apr 20, Allimuthu Perumal 0329443959 (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Please explain what is ornamental Kale i just saw Kale seeds at r18.99 at Shoprite
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07 Mar 18, Lexi (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
I found a company called Cape Kale that produces a dried Kale product. They are organic and it is dried at the correct temperatures. You can find it in most health shops in Cape Town.
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18 Jan 18, Orville Roache (Australia - tropical climate)
supermarkets in Jamaica are asking for this a lot. Does anyonee have aJamaican Experience ?
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07 Jul 17, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
Grow as much Tuscan kale as you can and make kale chips. I tear the kale into roughly 2 inch squares, put it into a bowl with olive oil and gently coat them. Then separate them, put them in your dehydrator (I only use an excalibur) and dry them till they are crispy. Lay them flat, salt them with pink himalayan and put them in a bowl on the table..I guarantee they will all be gone in 5 minutes..delicious!
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21 Jun 17, Coral (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Just wondering how long a kale plant will live for?
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21 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It is a biennial plant - could live for a few years - a good outcome is 3 years. It is a cool weather crop and can handle some frost. Tastes a bit bitter in the summer - drier and warmer. My rule is once a plant has produced a good crop and the quantity and quality has fallen away time to plough out. Put something else in that will produce a good supply.
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02 May 17, Alice (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Aphids over wintering on any curly leaved kale. Last year I grew a lot of leafy greens, the kale Nero was a great success, however the others grew really well but were infested with wooly aphids seeking shelter I assume. I'm not into chemical sprays, and getting the spray in all the curly leaves seems too time consuming, I can wash them off but it's almost pointless with the numbers per leaf. Have others found this? What can I try that's not too much of a hassle as I have a young family and don't really want to go out spraying with garlic spray for example after each time it rains.
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25 Jan 18, Wihiria Mark (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi, An organic gardener told me that broken egg shells keep any crawly grub away as they do not like the sharp edges of the egg. Good way to use egg shells as well. I found it did work with cabbage, cauliflower, hope this is useful to you as well.
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Showing 21 - 30 of 179 comments
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Harvest date is the time from seedling (from the time 2 leaves appear like Mickey mouse ears - or a blade of grass for Monocotyledons) to harvest. The reason it is not from sowing is the seed company has no idea when your seed will germinate from the time you planted it. That is to say, a seed can sit in the soil, waiting for its germination conditions to be met (temperature, light,water etc). Once the conditions are met, it germinates, and the growing conditions tend to be correct... so your seed/plant will grow as it's parent plant did. Example, I can sow seeds in fall, for spring growth. It should be noted that days to harvest is under ideal conditions...so let's say the temps fall below the growing temp range for that plant....the plant goes dormant, and starts growing again once temps are in the growing range. A drop in temps for 5 days will push your days to harvest out by 5 days (maybe more...because the plant may not kick into growing action right away - I am assuming the temp has not fallen so low it kills the plant). We had a forest fire nearby, and there were months of hazy days...clearly the plants could not grow...and this pushed the days to harvest out. I have read some agricultural papers, and rather than days to harvest they provide the number of hours of sunlight to harvest, they also define what intensity of sunlight is required to be counted as an hour of growing light. These numbers are converted to days (based on average hours of daylight etc.) In hopes of making things easier for the average gardener. Hope this info helps.

- Faith Celeste Archer

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