Collard greens (Kale)

Plant family

Crucifers (Brassicaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

High

Plant distance

40 cm

Row spacing

60 cm

Seeding depth

2 cm

Instructions

The season for this plant has not yet begun. The following instructions are for the beginning season.

Beginning of April

Propagating

End of April

Transplanting

Beginning of May

Harden

Description

Kale belongs to the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae). It is a cultivated form of the vegetable cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Kale is a typical winter vegetable and is also known as brown cabbage or curly cabbage, in Switzerland also as feather cabbage. It owes these names to its feathery and curly leaves. This fast-growing leafy cabbage has green to red leaves, depending on the variety. And, like all cabbages (except cauliflower and broccoli), does not form flowers until the second year. The frost hardiness of kale is excellent. Generally, the plants can withstand -10°C without any problems. A covering of snow is the ideal frost protection. This allows even colder periods to be survived well. This makes kale an ideal vegetable to stand and harvest through the winter. The cold even makes some varieties milder in flavor. However, there are also varieties that are very mild on their own, can be sown earlier and used as baby leaves.

Growing tips

The young plants can be pre-grown in a cold frame from May and can also be sown directly into the bed from June. You should ensure a sufficient sowing depth (2 cm) to reduce infestation by the cabbage fly. In addition, mounding up the young plants promotes root growth and can prevent the cabbage fly from laying its eggs in the stems of the kale. As with all cabbages, you should not grow kale in the same area where cabbages were grown for several years to prevent diseases such as cabbage hernia or nematode infestation. If your soil is very acidic, liming is recommended. Cabbage hernia can be prevented with pH values between 6.5 and 7.5. If you leave the kale on the bed for longer and expose it to cold temperatures for longer towards the beginning of winter, it will become milder, more tender and easier to digest.