Kale Brassica oleracea (acephala)

How to sow kale: Direct seed. If planting indoors, harden off before transplanting seedlings outside.

Sun requirement for kale: Plant in Full Sun

Kale has been planted 73 times by Growstuff members.

Kale is a cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea. It has green or purple leaves that branch off from one to multiple upright stems and do not form a head like cabbage. The plant is usually grown as an annual, but if grown as a perennial, it will form seeds in the second year. Current popular varieties include Curly kale, Italian kale, and Red Russian kale (green leaves with pale purple stems). It can be grown as baby salad greens or for bunching adult leaves. Leaves are sweeter after a frost and delicious eaten raw, added to salads, sautéed, or added to stews and casseroles.

Predictions

Annual

living and reproducing in a single year or less

Median lifespan

27 weeks

First harvest expected

5 weeks after planting

Last harvest expected

17 weeks after planting

Height

75cm

Spread

75cm

Row Spacing

45cm

Companions

Bonnie Little Bing Compact Cherry Tomato

Photos

Kale crops

Open Farm photo

by cropbot 0

Open Farm photo

by cropbot 0

Kale plantings

Kale

by mamagotcha 2013-08-29 1

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by shiny 2017-12-05 1

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by shiny 2018-03-21 1

garden 1

by mamagotcha 2013-08-28 0

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by shiny 2016-09-14 0

Kale harvests

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by shiny 2017-12-09 0

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by shiny 2017-12-16 0

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by shiny 2018-03-14 0

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by shiny 2018-03-26 0

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by shiny 2018-04-11 0

more photos »

Sunniness

Planted from

Harvested for

Varieties

cavalo nero

Brassica oleracea

kale Vate's blue curled

Brassica oleracea

lacinato kale

Brassica oleracea Acephala group

red russian kale

sea kale

Crambe maritima

Crop Map

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown on this map.

What people are saying about kale

Planting outdoors & fruit trees

by maco,

Today I transplanted the [cabbage](crop) and [onion](crop) seedlings outside and planted seeds for: [arugula](crop), [garlic](crop) (well, cloves, not seeds--forced in the fridge), mesclun salad mix, [kale](crop), [cauliflower](crop), and [beet](crop)s. Some of these (cauliflower, beets, mesclun)...

cabbages onions arugula garlic kale cauliflowers beets apples peaches almonds plums

Getting ready for spring!

by maco,

I've got seeds either on-hand or ordered for just about everything I'm starting from seed this year. I've been working out what I want to plant, and this is the plan I've come up with for the 72 square feet of my backyard raised beds: ![garden plan](http://mackenzie.morgan.name/tmp/garden_plan...

arugula basils beets cabbages cauliflowers cucumbers eggplants garlic kale lettuces onions oregano parsley Hungarian wax peppers bell peppers zucchini yellow summer squash butternut squash sweet potatoes tomatoes super sweet 100 tomatoes chamomiles

An example of "other" plantings

by Skud,

Just a note of something edible I planted, that won't ever be in our crops database, and would be a prime candidate for the "other" option we've talked about implementing: I just planted a big wide container with Diggers Club "Microgreen Winter Mix" which contains red russian [kale](crop), [tatso...

kale tatsoi endives

No subject

by oakandsage,

My [raspberry](crop) are flowering! Anyone whose english [pea](crop) plants yield spherical peas must be a saint. I only get spherical peas if I miss a pod. In the evening I sit out in the garden and eat peas until there is nothing worth eating left on the plant. Then I am done until tomorrow....