Love your greens as much as you eat them! Kale isn’t just another health fad—it’s a true garden star. Packed with vitamins and tough enough to thrive in chilly weather, it grows beautifully in both spring and fall. Whether you choose curly Kale or the bold dinosaur variety, this hardy leafy green adds beauty to your garden and flavor to your plate. Now, let’s get started and learn how to grow Kale like a pro!
About Kale
Kale is a cold-hardy, resilient, non-heading green that’s one of the easiest brassicas to grow—right alongside cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and other cole crops.
This biennial plant spends its first year producing lush leaves, then sends up a flower stalk in its second year (or sometimes late in the first). The stalk blooms, sets seeds, and once they mature, the plant completes its life cycle.
Beyond its powerhouse nutrition, Kale is beautiful-looking. You’ll find varieties ranging from bright greens to deep purples, with leaves that can be smooth, crunchy, or delightfully crinkled. Its ornamental charm makes it just as fitting in a vegetable patch as it is in a fall container display.
Planting Kale
Give Kale full sun and fertile, well-draining soil to grow the fastest and produce the most tender leaves. It can handle partial shade, but it will thrive best with plenty of light. Before planting, add plenty of compost to enrich the soil. If your soil is low in nutrients, boost its fertility by mixing in nitrogen-rich amendments like blood meal, cottonseed meal, or composted manure. This extra nourishment sets the stage for strong, healthy plants right from the start.
When to Plant Kale
Kale delivers its best flavor when it grows quickly and matures before summer heat sets in (above 75°F/24°C) or after the first fall frosts. Young plants can handle cold snaps down to 25°F (-4°C) without trouble, and mature plants are even tougher—able to survive very low temperatures. Heat, however, slows growth and gives the leaves a bitter edge.
For spring planting: Start seeds directly in the soil or transplant nursery starts 4–6 weeks before your region’s average last spring frost. Kale seeds will sprout even in cool soil as low as 40°F (4°C).
For fall planting: Choose early-maturing varieties and sow seeds about three months before your first fall frost date. In areas with hot summers, wait until temperatures cool before sowing. Cool fall weather enhances Kale’s sweet, nutty flavor, and the plants can shrug off hard frosts (25–28°F) without damage.
You can also grow Kale as a winter crop under protective covers or outdoors in mild-winter regions like the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast. In these climates, Kale keeps producing all winter.
How to Plant Kale
Before planting, work fertilizer into the top 3–4 inches of soil. Use about 1 1⁄2 cups of 5-10-10 fertilizer for every 25 feet of row. If you’re enriching the soil with compost instead, use a maximum of 1 inch of well-composted organic manure per 100 square feet of garden space.
Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep, leaving 1 inch between each, spacing rows 18–30 inches apart. If you’re transplanting young plants, set them at the same depth they were growing in their containers. Space transplants 12 inches apart in rows 18–30 inches apart.
Once planted, water thoroughly to help the seeds or seedlings settle in and start growing strong.
Growing Kale
About two weeks after planting, thin seedlings so they stand 8–12 inches apart. Keep your Kale well-watered and well-fed. If rainfall is light, give the plants 1–1.5 inches of water each week (roughly 1 gallon per square foot).
Feed the plants as needed by side-dressing with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. Spread mulch around the base to suppress weeds, hold moisture, and keep the soil cool. Stressed plants, whether from heat, cold, lack of water, pests, or disease, will slow their growth.
For a steady supply of mature leaves through winter, add a thick layer of mulch after the first hard freeze to protect the plants and extend the harvest.
Harvesting Kale
Begin harvesting when the leaves reach about the size of your hand. Pick a fistful of the outer leaves at a time, but never remove more than one-third of the plant in a single harvest. Leave the terminal bud intact to keep it producing new growth.
Kale keeps growing until temperatures drop to around 20°F (-7°C). Don’t stop picking once the frost arrives. A light frost actually makes the leaves sweeter.
How to Store Kale
Keep Kale fresh by placing it in a loose plastic bag and storing it in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it will stay crisp and flavorful for up to a week.
