When and How to Harvest Kale | Gardener's Path (2024)

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When and How to Harvest Kale | Gardener's Path? ›

Kale leaves are ready to harvest when the plant is about 12 inches tall and the outer leaves are about as long as your hand. That typically occurs 50 to 55 days after kale is started from seed. Whenever you plant some kale, mark your calendars about 7 weeks out for kale harvest time.

Kale leaves are ready to harvest when the plant is about 12 inches tall and the outer leaves are about as long as your hand. That typically occurs 50 to 55 days after kale is started from seed. Whenever you plant some kale, mark your calendars about 7 weeks out for kale harvest time.

You can pick spring-planted kale all summer, but leaves may get tough and bitter when heat arrives. Quality improves again in fall and plants continue growing even winter in mild climates. Frost makes them taste sweeter, and plants are cold-hardy at least to the low 20s. The following spring, though, they will bolt.

Kale is typically harvested multiple times by harvesting the older leaves as per the cut-and-come-again method. Perennial cultivars of Kale can live for several years if cared for properly and will continue to produce new leaves year-round.

Plant Your Kale

It grows best in the spring and fall and can tolerate fall frosts. So the best time to plant is about 1 month before your last frost date in spring and 6 weeks before your first frost date in fall.

Harvest when leaves are about the size of your palm.

Once the leaves are this size, your kale is ready and you should quickly harvest, as they'll go bitter shortly after this. However, fully mature kale leaves aren't the only kind of kale you can harvest. About 25 days after planting, you'll reach 'microgreen' size.

Store Whole Bunches In the Fridge

To avoid excess moisture, wrap the whole bunch of kale in a layer of paper towels, and store in a supermarket plastic bag or a zip-top plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer. The kale should keep for 1 week.

Kale can be frozen without blanching but should be used within 4 weeks. Blanching greens before freezing stops the naturally-occurring ripening enzymes in the leaves. This will ensure that the leaves taste fresh and will not develop a bitter taste. Blanched kale will last up to 1 year in the freezer.

But more important, these are flowers you can, and should, eat. You'll be glad you did. When the brassica vegetables bolt after the long winter, the flowers they produce are tender and delicious.

Pinch or cut the buds off an inch or two down the stem. Don't hesitate to include a few leaves. I can usually harvest kale raab like this for a month or more each spring. But ultimately, the size of the new buds diminishes each time the flowers regrow.

How long does it take for kale to be fully grown? ›

Kale leaves are ready to pick 55 to 75 days from seeding, or when the leaves are about the size of your hand. The central rosette is the tastiest part of the plant, but let it grow if you want the plant to produce more leaves.

The leaves of your kale and mustard greens are still edible once the plants bolt, but the plant is so focused on going to seed that it won't produce more leaves for you ever again.

If you have a vegetable garden, you can pick kale leaves when they are still small. You'll get the same nutritional benefits when eating these tender leaves as you would eating mature kale.