How to Grow Kale: Step-By-Step Guide

This Kale growing guide includes everything you need to know about growing Kale. Growing Kale is an excellent choice for beginner gardeners. Kale is one of the best plants to eat and is easy to grow. So let’s learn how to grow kale.

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All about Kale

Kale has been cultivated since as early as 2000 BC, it originated in the area between Asia and Europe. Many historians believe that it was one of the most widely consumed vegetables until the Middle Ages when it was replaced with cabbages.

Kale continued to be a very popular vegetable until around World War II. It fell out of favor for a while, many people think that is because of wartime rationing, but it has been gaining again in popularity since the early 2000s. Much of this popularity comes from the fact that kale leaves can be easily turned into tasty kale chips. It has also become a popular ingredient in many different types of salads

Kale is one of many members of the Brassica family, so it is related to crops like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. It is a very versatile cool-season crop that can be grown in most areas successfully.

Kale Nutrition Facts

Kale is considered by many to be a “super-food”. It is one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat. Kale is packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is one of the best sources of vitamin K, it also has lots of vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Kale also contains antioxidants like quercetin and kaempferol.

Different Varieties of Kale

There are 3 main classifications of kale, all of the different varieties of kale will fall into one of these 3 categories:

Curly Leaf Kale – These are the more traditional kale varieties that have been grown for 1000s of years. These varieties of kale have a slightly tougher texture to their leaves but a mild flavor that can be used for soups, chips, smoothies, or pesto.

This category includes varieties like:

Vates
Sabor
Winterbor
Dwarf blue curled

Russian or Flat Leaf Kale – Sometimes called Russian Red or even Red Russian, this flat-leaf kale is becoming very popular. It is a cross between traditional European kale and Chinese cabbage. These plants have a nice mild taste and are the most cold-hardy of all the varieties.

Lacinato Kale – This category of kale has been grown for hundreds of years in the Mediterranean. It is also often referred to as Tuscan kale or Dinosaur kale. Lacinato Kale has long tasty leaves that are perfect for adding to scrambles, sauteing, or even as a topping for pizza. It does have a thicker and tougher stem than the other two types of kale.

Kale is a Cool-Season Crop

Kale is traditionally considered a cool season crop. It is very hardy in cold weather and can survive all winter unprotected in milder climates. In colder climates, kale will survive all winter with the added protection of a hoop house or even just a heavy fabric row cover.

Despite it being normally considered a cool season crop, kale will also grow well in the heat. However, kale grown in the hot time of the year will usually have a much stronger taste. Cool-weather helps kale taste better, and in fact, frost will dramatically improve the taste of kale.

Young kale plants can be very tender and therefore make a great addition to “baby salad mixes”.

Kale also has a biannual growth cycle. Meaning the first season the plants just focus on growing leaves. After a cooling period (winter) the plants will then focus on flowering and setting seeds. Kale can be one of the easiest plants to save seeds from. You can learn more about saving kale seeds from this article.

Where to Plant Kale

Kale does well planted in the ground, in raised beds, and even in pots.

Choose a sunny location that gets full sun which is between 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day for your best plants. As a leafy green, kale will also tolerate partial shade, so it can be planted in areas with 4 to 6 hours of sun a day, just be aware that you won’t get your best crop from this area. Afternoon shade is always best in the summer, this helps keep the plants from bolting or from getting bitter.

Keep in mind that kale plants can get quite tall if allowed. They will easily reach 3 or 4 feet tall. Thick kale plants can cast a lot of shade so be careful what you plant nearby.

Soil Conditions

Kale prefers rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. You should always add an inch or 2 of compost to your growing beds before planting kale. If a soil test indicates you need it you could also add some organic nitrogen fertilizer to your soil before you plant.

Kale grows best in gardens with a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0, but it will tolerate soils with a pH out of that range.

How to Plant Kale

Kale can be planted directly by seed or by using indoor-grown transplants. When direct seeding kale in the garden you should plant seeds 3 inches apart at a depth of about 1/4 an inch.

Remember that kale plants can get quite large, so plan on thinning directly sown seedlings to about 12 inches apart. Be sure to eat all those plants that you thin. Young kale plants will be tasty and tender.

Kale can also be planted using transplants that you have grown earlier in the year indoors. Set transplants out in the garden 3 or 4 weeks before your last frost date. Space these seedlings about 12 inches apart to allow the plants to fully develop.

When to Plant Kale

Kale is a cool season crop that does best when grown in the early spring and fall. Cooler temperatures and frost help to sweeten the taste of kale.

However, kale can grow year-round. It will stand up to the heat in the summer and is a very hardy winter crop as well.

For early spring planting, you can start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost date. Plan on setting seedlings out in the garden about 3 to 4 weeks before your last frost date.

If planting by seed, sow seeds directly in the garden as soon as the soil can be worked, roughly 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost.

Kale also does well in hoop houses and other season-extending structures and using them allows you to plant seeds or transplants 4 weeks sooner than the dates listed above.

For a fall and winter harvest of kale, you should start seedlings indoors 12-14 weeks before your first frost date. Plant these seedlings in the garden 8 to 10 weeks before your first frost.

Fall-planted kale can be protected under a hoop house. Kale is so hardy that in most climates (even very cold ones) it will survive the winter giving you a harvest of fresh extra sweet leaves all winter long!

Caring for Kale while it grows

Kale is a fairly undemanding vegetable to grow in your garden. Kale does appreciate even watering and some occasional fertilizer. A good organic fish emulsion is a great choice every 4 weeks or so.

Kale will also benefit from a good layer of mulch. That is especially true when you are growing kale in the summertime or when you are putting out transplants in the late summer for fall and winter harvest. Mulch keeps the soil cool and keeps the moisture in the soil even. Mulch with compost, straw, grass clippings, or shredded leaves.

Keep weeds down and the soil evenly moist and you should be successful with your kale plants.

Good Companion Plants to grow with Kale

If you are interested in some plants to grow with and around kale you will find that it does well with the plants listed below:

celery
cucumbers
herbs
beets
spinach
chard
onions
potatoes

Kale does not grow as well around beans, strawberries, or tomatoes.

Pest Problems with Kale

The two biggest pests you will need to deal with on kale are Cabbage worms and Aphids.

Cabbage worms are the larval form of those little white butterflies you see flitting around your garden. The butterflies are called cabbage loopers. Those small white butterflies lay eggs on your kale and other brassicas. When they hatch the worms then attack the plants eating the leaves with vigor!

Cabbage worms can be controlled by picking them off the plants by hand. If you are checking your plants often and removing the worms as they grow you can keep the damage limited.

A better method for controlling cabbage worms is using bug netting or light fabric row covers as a barrier. Covering your plants keeps the white butterflies from laying eggs on the plants and then you never develop an issue with the worms.

What can you do about Pests?

Fabric row covers can just be placed directly on the plants, or even better they can be placed on hoops over your grow beds. Barrier methods can be very effective against cabbage worms.

Aphids are another significant pest issue with kale. These small sucking insects can cause significant damage to your plants and additionally, they can get into the folds and crevices of your kale plants. This makes them hard to remove and can make your kale unappealing.

Fortunately, the same treatment you use to prevent cabbage worms will also keep aphids out of your crop. Simple bug netting or light fabric row covers will keep most aphids off of your plants. For this reason, I always plant kale in a bed that is going to have the constant protection of a hoop covered with row fabric. Flea Beetles can also be a problem with kale and are prevented by using bug netting or light fabric row covers.

Even with a fabric row cover you still need to be vigilant in checking your plants for pests, especially aphids. If any aphids turn up on your kale plants you can remove them using a strong blast of water or you can treat them using a homemade insecticidal soap. (Learn how to make homemade insecticidal soap in the video below).

How to Harvest Kale

All three of the varieties of kale have a growth habit where the outside or lower leaves mature first. You should harvest the larger leaves first leaving the smaller leaves in the center and top of the plant to continue to mature.

Russian or Siberian varieties of kale have a looser growth habit, more like a leaf lettuce plant. So with these plants just cut out the larger leaves as they reach the size you want.

With Tuscan and Curly leaf kale, the plants grow tall and the lower leaves mature first. Harvest these larger leaves by cutting them or simply snapping them off the plant. Leave the upper leaves to continue to size up and develop.

You will notice that both Tuscan and Curly leaf kales have a prominent center of the plant where the new leaves start to grow. Be careful not to remove this center structure. Removing that center growth bud will stop the plant from producing additional leaves.

The harvest from one kale plant can stretch over several months if you only remove the larger lower leaves and let the smaller upper leaves continue to develop.

Remember to harvest your kale leaves often. Leaves left on the plant for too long will get too large and will develop a tough texture and a strong bitter taste.

How to Store Kale After Harvest

Kale stores well in a sealed plastic bag or other container in the refrigerator for as long as a week. In fact, we have found that when you harvest kale in the warmer summer months a few days in the refrigerator will help to moderate the stronger flavors.

Kale is both nutritious and easy to grow. Adding this member of the Brassica family to your garden will be a great choice for a long harvest of healthy greens.