How to grow Kale

At a glance

🌱 Grow your Kale with GardenDex

• Reminders to water it, timed to your weather and whether it's in a pot
• Frost and disease alerts for your garden, the night before
• Follow it from seed to harvest, and see what your garden grew in $
• Point your camera at any plant or bug to identify it

🗓️ When to plant

Sow seeds in mid-spring for summer harvest, or in mid-to-late summer for fall and winter harvests. Kale is a cool-season crop and actually prefers temperatures below 21°C (70°F).

🌰 How to plant

1. Start seeds indoors 4–6 weeks before planting out, or direct sow outdoors.
2. Transplant seedlings when they have 2–3 true leaves, spacing them 30–45 cm apart.
3. Plant in soil enriched with compost or well-rotted manure.
4. Water gently after planting and keep soil consistently moist until established.

💧 Care

• Mulch around plants to retain moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds.
• Fertilize every 3–4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer or compost tea.
• Pinch off the top center growth on young plants to encourage bushier, leaf production.
• Monitor for pests regularly and remove yellowed or damaged leaves as needed.
• Provide support in windy locations to prevent stem damage.

🧺 Harvest

Begin harvesting outer leaves when plants are 20–30 cm tall by pinching or cutting them off at the base. Continue picking leaves throughout the season; kale often produces for 6+ months, and sweetness improves after a hard frost.

🐛 Common problems

Cabbage worms and loopers: Use row covers early in the season or apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray at the first sign of damage.

Powdery mildew: Improve air circulation, avoid overhead watering, and spray with a sulfur fungicide if needed.

Flea beetles: Use fine mesh row covers in spring or dust leaves with neem oil or diatomaceous earth.

Clubroot: Rotate crops, ensure good drainage, and avoid planting brassicas in the same spot for 3–4 years.

🤝 Companion plants

💚 Good neighbours: Beetroot, Onions, Potatoes, Chamomile

⚠️ Keep apart from: Fennel, Tomatoes

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