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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22 May 17, hornz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
try companion planting with spring onions, shallots &/or garlic
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17 Jan 17, Ashley (Australia - temperate climate)
Kale fry sriLankan style Wash the leaves in salt water and cut them very fine or use the fine cutting blade in the food processor Heat generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan and add chopped garlic Spanish onions finely chopped and fry till transparent and sweet. Then add in the chopped kale at the same time add Tumaric powder cumin and coriander powder bit of cracked pepper and salt mix it all up stur well once the kale goes dark green it's ready to go With the spicy mix play around with I like it hot and add chopped green chillies Goes well with rice chiken Rost or grill stake you will never taste the shared kale taste
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04 Jan 17, JACK SKENDER (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I grow my kale in sandy soil just north of Perth WA.. My problem is that the leaves develop yellow blotches after a period of 6 months. I thought it might be an element deficiency in the soil and applied trace elements without success. I have used various fertilizers to no avail. Can you suggest what element my soil could be deficient in for the Kale Many thahks Jack Skender
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17 Mar 17, Bruce (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi Jack, yes always a challenge in sandy soil. You won't look back if you use Paul Gautschi's Back to Eden method. It never fails! Google "Back to Eden Garden" The film is also available on YouTube and Vimeo. Good luck.
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27 Oct 16, debbie (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Where do i find kale in bloemfontein??
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29 Apr 20, Allimuthu Perumal 0329443959 (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
You can at Shoprite
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22 Mar 17, Paul D (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
You can buy seeds from livingseeds or from seeds for Africa.
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05 Aug 16, Heather (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Were can I but Scottish Kale seed in Gauteng
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28 Jun 16, Nadira (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
Hi . I'm a garden lover and wish to grow my own herb garden and veg but I don't no where to buy seeds .I'm in durban. Please help.
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10 Jul 16, eddie (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
check out grovida huge selection look in checkers/pick n pay Builders express in Pinetown also has large selection
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Showing 31 - 40 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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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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