How to Grow Kale From Seed

Kale is a hardy cool-season green that grows at both ends of the season, and every type in the family, from curly Scotch and lacinato to red Russian and dwarf Siberian, likes the same cool weather. Sow in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, once it reaches about 45 to 55F, for a spring and early summer crop. Then sow again in mid to late summer for a fall and winter crop, which is the sweetest, since most kale shrugs off hard frost and the hardiest types keep producing into winter down to around 10 to 20F.

Kale is easy from seed and does not mind being direct-sown, whichever type you grow. Sow the small seeds a quarter to half an inch deep in rich soil in full sun to part shade, keep the bed evenly moist, and expect sprouts in 5 to 10 days. Thin seedlings to 12 to 18 inches apart for full plants, and give the taller lacinato and Russian types a little extra room (eat the thinnings as baby greens). You can also start it indoors and transplant, but direct sowing works well and skips transplant shock.

Kale is low-maintenance across the board. Give it about an inch of water a week and an occasional nitrogen feed to keep the leaves tender and fast. Pick the outer leaves regularly and the plant keeps pushing new growth from the center, whether it is a low frilly type or a tall lacinato. Watch for aphids, cabbage worms, and flea beetles, and use row cover or a strong spray of water. In hot regions like Texas or the Deep South, grow kale mainly as a fall, winter, and early spring crop, since summer heat makes it tough and bitter and can trigger bolting; in cool-summer areas like the Pacific Northwest it produces almost year-round.

Kale grows well beside plants that pull its pests away and bring in helpful insects. These four make especially good neighbors, and you can add any of them in one click:

Start picking once the plant has several full leaves. Take the oldest, lowest leaves first by snapping them off near the stem, and always leave the small central growing point and a few young leaves so the plant keeps going. This works the same for every kale type, from tight curly heads to strappy lacinato. Harvest a few leaves at a time, cut-and-come-again, and one planting will feed you for months, right through frost.

Kale is a workhorse green. Massage raw leaves with a little oil and lemon for salad to soften them, bake them into crisp kale chips, or add them to soups, stir-fries, pasta, and smoothies. Tender types like dwarf Siberian and red Russian are mild enough to eat raw, while sturdy lacinato and curly types hold their texture beautifully in soups and braises. Strip the tough central rib before cooking, and use frost-sweetened winter leaves for the best flavor.

• Aphids: gray-green clusters on leaves and shoots. Blast them off with water, and let flowers nearby draw in ladybugs and lacewings.
• Cabbage worms: green caterpillars that riddle the leaves. Pick them off or use a lightweight row cover to keep the moths out.
• Flea beetles: tiny holes shot through young leaves. Cover seedlings with row cover and interplant radishes as a trap crop.
• Bitter, tough leaves: usually summer heat. Grow kale in cool weather, harvest young, and use frost-sweetened leaves in fall.