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Kale  (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica)

GROWING SUMMARY​

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  • Onions are frost hardy and germinate best between

  • Timing:  

  • Direct Seeding

  • Growing Seedlings
    Germination temperature

  • Bed Preparation
    Raised beds
    On the flat

  • Plant Spacing
    Germination temperature

  • Irrigation
    Germination temperature

  • Pests and Diseases
    Germination temperature

  • Harvesting
    November – January depending on variety & location

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GROWING SUMMARY​

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  • Kale comes into its own in winter particularly if your area has hard frosts which sweeten the cabbage flavoured leaves.

  • Like all the large brassicas the kales appreciate rich, well fertilised soil and plenty of space. 300-500mm between the plants. The pH needs to be about 6.5 so add lime or dolomite if your soil is acid.

  • Get your plants into the ground in late summer to ensure they are well grown before the days start to get short and the temperatures start to drop. 

  • Harvest from baby leaf to full size. If you want baby leaf kale for salads sown it densely and cut with a sharp knife. Larger leaves for cooking are harvested one at a time by twisting the leaf off close to the stem of the plant. 

  • Cabbage moths and butterflies are a problem in summer but can be easily controlled organically with Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) or by using some sort of exclusion netting.
    Aphids can also be a problem in the cooler weather

VARIETIES​

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  • Red Russian - this is the thinnest leafed, mildest kale. Fast growing and excellent cut as a baby leaf.

  • Cavolo Nero - the tasty, nutrient dense, Italian classic - our favourite. The leaves are dark coloured, long and thin and heavily savoyed.

  • Half Tall Scotch - a coarser, dark green curly variety.

  • Ornamental - again coarse and curly and comes in eye catching variations of blue green, pink purple and white.

MORE INFORMATION

 

Timing

Timing is nowhere near as crucial as it is with with other cabbage family members but the conversion of starch to sugar when the leaves have been frozen is more pronounced so enjoy it in the middle of winter. No matter when it was planted it will bolt up to flower in early spring.

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Pest Control

The worst pest of Cabbages is the cabbage white butterflies (and moths) that hover around the plants all summer.  

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You must be vigilant in the warmer months. If you see even one white butterfly there will be eggs and caterpillars. The eggs are easy to spot, they are small, round and yellow and you will find them on the underside of the leaves. If you only have a few plants it is easy to squash the eggs off with your thumb.  The best solution is to check all your seedlings for eggs when you plant them then put some sort of insect exclusion cover over the top of the plants. If the butterflies can't get on the leaves they can't lay eggs. Another great biological control is Dipel, a bacterial poison specific to caterpillars and which will not harm all the wonderful beneficial insects. 

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As the weather starts to cool in autumn aphids can become a real problem. Spray with white oil and or pyrethrum to stay on top of these small leaf sucking insects.

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Weed Management 

​​Because of the wide plant spacing kales are easy to hoe when they are small. They are also great candidates for heavy mulching. When using mulch be vigilant with slug control because slugs love young Brassica plants.

 

Once the plants are well established weed problems disappear. The large shady leaves protect the soil and when the outer leaves die off they put small amounts of germination suppressant chemicals into the soil. 

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