How do you know when kale is bolting?
As the weather warms up, keep an eye on the central stalk for signs of bolting. Signs include the stalk quickly shooting up taller, leaves beginning to branch out from the stalk a good distance above the cluster, and the central stalk shooting up well above the cluster of leaves at its base.
The classic signs of bolting kale plants are present. Instead of the kale leaves growing in a cluster near the ground, a leaf covered stalk with a broccoli-like flower bud has shot up from the center of the plant. Although this can be frustrating, you can learn how to stop kale-bolting from happening again.
Those tiny yellow flower buds that appear on your kale plants at the end of the season don't necessarily mean the end of your crop. In fact, just the opposite: the florets are a bonus crop you can eat, and they turn even sweeter if the plants have been through a hard frost.
Yes, that is the life cycle of biennial plants – they live through two growing seasons and then die after flowering. Sometimes you can keep a kale plant alive longer if you keep snipping the flowers off.
White, pink, or red pigments will begin to develop when temperatures dip below 50°F. Once acclimated in a site, ornamental cabbages and kale can survive temperatures as low as 5°F, so plants may last well into November and December.
And if you prefer larger kale, wait until it sizes up. If you wait too long, however, older leaves may become discolored and eventually fall off the plant. If this happens, just remove and discard any leaves that have gone bad and continue harvesting.
5. Cut back several mature plants in spring. As noted above, lopping off the top of a mature kale plant encourages vigorous new growth. These small leaves will provide enough greens for late winter or early spring salads while you await the next crop's tender bounty.
Kale stems have a reputation for being fibrous and tough, so it's no surprise that they quickly end up being discarded. They're actually completely edible and can be delicious if done right.
Kale is a superfood for your body and for your garden. Not only is it easy to grow, it's also a biennial, which means it can live for two years in your garden. The best part about kale is the more you harvest from the leaves, the more the plant grows!
Kale planted in September will grow slowly and will still be small when winter sets in. But it will provide a good harvest of small leaves all winter. Then the plants will take off in the spring. Because kale is so hardy it will grow unprotected in your garden until early winter (think December).
Is July too late to plant kale?
Depending on your region, this means you should plant seeds directly in the garden from mid-July to mid-September. You can start trays for transplants in June, July, or August, and plant these out into your garden in late July to late September.
You might even decide that you like eating the flowerheads more than regular kale leaves. However, even if you do develop a fondness for kale flowers, you will still want to avoid letting future plants flower, as flowering kale has a much less impressive nutrient structure than traditional kale.
Kale can be grown to its full size or harvested when the leaves are small and tender. Kale is ready to harvest when its leaves are the size of your hand. It usually takes up to 95 days for kale to be ready after planting it from seed.
Kale tastes best when plants grow rapidly and mature before the heat of summer (before temperatures exceed 75°F/24°C) or after fall frosts occur. Young plants are not seriously damaged by temperatures down to 25°F/-4°C. Mature plants are extremely hardy and can withstand very cold temperatures.
Harvest when leaves are about the size of your palm.
Fully matured kale leaves are about the size of your hand. Your kale plant will begin to produce leaves this size about 70 days after planting. Once the leaves are this size, your kale is ready and you should quickly harvest, as they'll go bitter shortly after this.
Flowering kales and cabbages come in shades of purple, cream, green and rose. Their colors become richer as the temperatures drop, so they're a great choice for fall gardens. Most grow about 18 inches tall and wide, so use them in the front of beds or as borders around other ornamentals or edibles.
You can eat flowering kales and cabbages -- also known as ornamental kalle and cabbage -- but you won't want to. You'll want them in your garden beds and borders — or in containers — where they will continue to “bloom” well into winter.
Flowering Kale Overview
With its ruffled leaves drenched in pinks, purples, and reds, flowering kale is a decorative and easy-to-grow addition to container gardens and garden beds. Also called ornamental cabbage, flowering kale is in the same plant family as edible cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli.
If a plant is overwatered, it will likely develop yellow or brown limp, droopy leaves as opposed to dry, crispy leaves (which are a sign of too little water). Wilting leaves combined with wet soil usually mean that root rot has set in and the roots can no longer absorb water.
As with many other plants, be careful not to overwater, which may cause the roots to rot. The best quality kale results from fast growth without heat or moisture stress.
Can kale get too much sun?
Kale grows best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade as well. Plants that receive fewer than 6 hours of sun daily will not be as stocky or leafy as those that get ample sun, but they will still be plenty edible! Like collards, kale likes fertile soil to grow fast and produce tender leaves.
Kale needs plentiful, consistent moisture – one to two inches of water per week is usually about right. Make sure you have a thick layer of mulch around your plants to help with moisture retention. If the kale leaves get too dried out, they are likely to wilt.
Raw kale may be more nutritious, but it may also harm your thyroid function. Kale, along with other cruciferous vegetables, contains a high amount of goitrogens, which are compounds that can interfere with thyroid function ( 8 ). Specifically, raw kale contains a type of goitrogen called goitrins.
But despite all that kale-leaf love, most kale recipes suggest you de-stem the sturdy greens by slicing along the thick middle stalk, use only the (relatively) more tender leaf, and toss the stems into the compost bin.
Water kale deeply and infrequently while trying to maintain even soil moisture. About one to two inches of water are required per week. Use drip irrigation if possible to conserve water. Apply mulch to conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds.
| Common Name | Kale, ornamental kale |
|---|---|
| Family | Brassicaceae |
| Plant Type | Annual, biennial, vegetable |
| Mature Size | 1–2 ft. tall, 1–2 ft. wide |
| Sun Exposure | Full sun, partial sun |
stems to perfection; in other words, here's how to make them actually taste good. First things first: Kale and collard stems are tough, chewy, and fibrous. While we enjoy the occasional raw collard or kale salad, you should never eat the stems raw.
Treat Your Leafy Greens Carefully. If you are pretty sure the holes in your leafy vegetables were caused by insects or slugs, they should be safe to eat, as long as you wash them thoroughly, and remove any damaged portions. However, if mammals have been through your garden, you should avoid damaged greens.
Kale holds its texture well when cooked, and it can be steamed, stir-fried, roasted or eaten raw. You can blend it into smoothies, roast it to make kale chips, wilt it into soup, mash it with potatoes or turn it into pesto.
Kale (Zones 3-9):
Planting kale now in mid-July through mid-August will yield an excellent harvest in the fall and winter.
Can you freeze kale raw?
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.
Certain crops such as broccoli, cabbage, claytonia, kale, and spinach can easily survive through the winter without any protection. Other crops like arugula, leeks and lettuce often die when unprotected during periods of extreme winter cold.
It's important to wash kale thoroughly, because it can have a lot of dirt on it, particularly if you grow it yourself. It's also important to dry it thoroughly before storing it. (By the way, this trick works with other dirty produce, such as leeks or cilantro, as well!)
Raw kale will last up to a week in the refrigerator and about six months in the freezer. Cooked kale, meanwhile, will only keep for three to five days in the fridge.
Kale can also be planted from seed in October. Alliums: The allium family features strong-tasting veggies like onions, garlic, shallots, chives, and leeks.
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.
One of the most nutritious shade loving vegetables around, kale thrives in just a few hours of sunlight per day. Kale is also extremely cold tolerant, making it a great crop for fall harvests.
Lacinato: This heirloom kale variety holds up well in hot weather. Lacinato kale grows to reach heights between two and three feet tall.
Hot weather in mid-to-late summer will turn kale bitter. Kale can't survive extremely cold weather or snow unless it's protected by a cold frame. The ideal temperature range for growing kale is between 65 and 75°F. Kale thrives from the early spring to early summer in most climates.
Kale germinates best at 65 to 75 degrees F; during the warmest part of the summer cool the soil by covering with cardboard for a week prior to planting and make sure that the seeds stay well-watered until they germinate.
Is bolted kale OK to eat?
Those tiny yellow flower buds that appear on your kale plants at the end of the season don't necessarily mean the end of your crop. In fact, just the opposite: the florets are a bonus crop you can eat, and they turn even sweeter if the plants have been through a hard frost.
Kale can bolt the following spring when it overwinters in your garden. When the temperatures begin to warm it can send up a flower stalk because it is a biennial plant that produces flowers and seed the second year of its life cycle. The leaves will become more bitter when it bolts.
Flea Beetles (Chrysomelidae family) These little beetles like to chomp on your kale, leaving tiny pits and holes in the leaves. Although these beetles are small, they often arrive in large numbers, and can do a lot of damage.
Pods form shortly after. Leaves can be harvested as long as the plant is viable, but the flavor will suffer once they flower. They're still suitable for use in stir-fries and soups, but will be tougher and if eaten raw, they may taste bitter.
If the holes are on the interior of the leaf, that means you have pests crawling along the underside and eating all the way through. While slugs and snails have been known to eat from kale, your culprit is most likely going to be caterpillars, specifically cabbage worms and cabbage loopers.
If a plant is overwatered, it will likely develop yellow or brown limp, droopy leaves as opposed to dry, crispy leaves (which are a sign of too little water). Wilting leaves combined with wet soil usually mean that root rot has set in and the roots can no longer absorb water.
- Plant in the right season. ...
- Avoid stress. ...
- Use row cover or plant in the shade of other plants to keep greens and lettuce cool as the season warms. ...
- Cover young broccoli or cauliflower plants and near-mature bulbing onions during a cold snap to protect them from bolting.
These are kale seed pods. They're edible and great in salads. This week we are focusing on seed saving. Why it's important and how to do it successfully.
Powdery Mildews of Kale, other Brassicas, and Lettuce
It develops a powdery appearance when the pathogen produces spores. Leaves can quickly become covered with the powdery growth.
When you see clusters of gray-green aphids on kale, broccoli, cabbage, or Brussels sprouts, you're looking at cabbage aphids (Brevicoryne brassicae), one of the weirdest pests in the vegetable garden. Males often don't appear until late summer, when they are needed to help produce fertile, overwintering eggs.
Should I pick kale leaves to promote growth?
Harvest Kale Leaves Often to Encourage the Plant to Produce More Leaves. This may seem counterintuitive, but the more you harvest your leaves, the more energy your plant will spend on making new leaves.
Does kale regrow after picking? When kale is harvested carefully, it works as a cut and come again vegetable that grows back to regenerate its leaves for multiple harvests. For your kale to grow back, harvest the oldest leaves first—the ones on the outside of the plant at the base.
Fortunately, there's good news! Greens with holes in them that were created by feeding insects or slugs should be fine to eat, if you cut away the damaged parts.
But despite all that kale-leaf love, most kale recipes suggest you de-stem the sturdy greens by slicing along the thick middle stalk, use only the (relatively) more tender leaf, and toss the stems into the compost bin.
The black spots come from decomposition of the plant related to breakdown by the fungus. Infection with bacteria can also cause a similar appearance. While kale leaves infected with a fungus or bacteria sounds ominous, it's not a problem for humans who eat the leaves.
