Planting Kale Seeds
One of the plants that I have been cultivating for a couple of years is the kale plant. This summer, I have been growing two types of kale: curly kale and black kale. In this blog post, I will share how I have been growing my kale plants, what has worked, and what has not. Hopefully, you will learn something new or at least enjoy the pictures! Happy reading!
How to Sow Kale Seeds
I start by buying kale seeds from the store. In recent years, I have mostly been growing organic seeds, but you can choose what is easiest to buy and suits you best. There are various varieties of kale to grow, and in this blog post, I will share the different kale plants that I have been growing. For organic seeds, I have been ordering them online and have been very happy with them.
Regardless of the kale variety, the sowing process is the same. I sow one to four seeds a little bit apart from each other in a small pot (or in a milk carton that I have cut in half) in fertile soil. After sowing the seeds, you need to water them and keep the soil consistently moist for the seeds to start growing. When the young plants begin to show above the soil, they will start to seek light.
When the plants are growing indoors during winter, the kale seedlings may become weak and unstable due to the lack of light and sunshine. Using grow lights can be beneficial at this time of year. This is necessary only if it is very early in the spring and there isn’t much natural light yet. Otherwise, place the plants on the sunniest windowsill available. I recommend not starting too early with growing your seeds in the spring because the lack of sunlight will make them weak and constantly searching for light.
Have the kids with you when you sow the seeds. They can cut the milk carton, fill it with soil, sow the seeds, and water them. It is a great learning experience for them, and you will give them a valuable lesson they can continue with you and later on their own as they get older. Additionally, they will appreciate the attention and the love and care you give them during this process.
When is the Best Time to Sow Kale Seeds?
The best time to start growing kale seeds is in April or early spring. I recommend pre-cultivating the kale seeds indoors so they will be ready for transplanting outside when the weather is warmer and the sun is shining. Kale plants benefit from full sun but can also tolerate partial shade for part of the day. The warmer months will help them grow! The kale is easy to grow, and does not need much of your attention or care, which is awesome fore gardening beginners (if your are one of them!).
Due to pre-cultivation, the plants will already have several leaves when you plant them in the garden, giving them better resistance to pests and insects compared to sowing the seeds directly in the garden beds. Snails and other pests love fresh, young leaves! Therefore, I am all for pre-cultivation! Also, I love to see quick results in my garden beds! It is so much fun to see the plants in the garden beds, instead of only soil for a couple of weeks (waiting for the seeds to grow into plants).
I have not yet tried sowing seeds outside in March or April, around the last frost date, without watering them (and then start watering them when the growing season begins). I would like to try that method next year. If you have tried sowing seeds outside without pre-cultivation, I would love to hear about your experience! Please write in the comments below.
How to Transplant the Baby Plants
Before transplanting the seedlings into your garden, make sure you have prepared the garden beds so they can grow well with minimal worries. Well-prepared garden beds will require less maintenance after planting the seedlings.
If your soil quality is poor, do not hesitate to buy new soil from the store. Do not mix it with the old soil either. Earlier this summer, I tried to save money by mixing a little new soil with the old soil in two of my garden beds, and the plants grew less compared to the beds with only new soil. Also, there were fewer weeds in the new soil, making it easier to manage. I am always learning, and that is what is fun about gardening, you learn so much along the way!
Therefore, this is what I learned: Proper preparation of your beds in advance will save you a lot of work. The darker and more nutrient-rich the soil, the better. You can also sow seeds directly in the garden bed, but it will take longer for them to grow due to the cold weather. While frost or cold weather is not necessarily bad for the seeds, check the soil temperature before transplanting, as small plants can be sensitive to cold weather.
Be careful when transplanting the plants from the pot to the beds. Handle the roots gently to avoid damaging them. Plant the seedlings at the same depth they were in the pot, or slightly deeper. This will make sure the root system to settle, allowing the plant to grow steadily during the summer months.
When the plants are sown in May or early June, I recommend covering them with fiber cloth to help them grow faster and protect them from pests and insects. After a few weeks, use natural fertilizer, such as grass clippings, which is one of my favorites. Organic fertilizer is the best! My boys, aged 7 and 10, cut the grass for me, making our garden beautiful and providing perfect mulch.
Also, you do not have to use the fiber cloth for the entire summer, or at least I do not. I only use it until approximately the 20th of June. I just make sure to look under the fiber cloth every now and then to see if there are any pests destroying my plants. If there are none, I can safely remove it after the first few weeks of summer.
For the rest of the summer, I make sure the kale plants get enough water and nutrients (such as grass clippings or another type of fertilizer) to grow to full size. I leave the rest of the work to the hot weather and the sun.
Harvesting Kale: How to Use Kale Plants
Kale plants are rich in iron and vitamin C, which is great for our health and a good reason to grow them. During the winter, when I do not have fresh kale from the garden, I buy kale leaves from the grocery store. You can also harvest a lot of kale during the summer and freeze it for later use.
Kale plants can be harvested during the winter as well. I have read that the leaves taste even better after the first fall frost! Kale can handle temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius. I have even harvested kale leaves in the middle of winter in December in Iceland, which says a lot about their hardiness.
Therefore, do not let cold weather scare you! Kale is very hardy and can stay in the soil for a long time during the winter without being destroyed. It makes for an enjoyable fall harvest and handles cold temperatures well. It feels amazing to have the possibility of a winter crop!
Once the kale plants have grown about 20 cm or more, I start picking the tender leaves. I usually begin with the lowest leaves but pick any leaves that look strong and healthy (that are large enough to be harvested). This summer, the kale plants were ready to harvest from the middle of June. It is a blessing to have fresh salad and kale from the garden. If you have not yet tasted kale leaves, try them fresh from the garden (but rinse them thoroughly first under running water).
I usually use kale in smoothies. A great smoothie recipe is 2-3 kale leaves (using only the leaves, not the stem), frozen pineapple, one banana, a little ground flaxseed, vanilla yogurt (either vegan or dairy), and water. If you want more kale, you can add more, but steam the leaves for 20 seconds first to reduce the bitterness.
Another great tip is to make kale chips! They are easy to make and very tasty, even for kids. Here is how you make them: Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius, tear the kale leaves into small pieces, mix them with olive oil, spread them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and bake for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle some sea salt over the finished kale chips and enjoy!
