DIY Network

All About Kale All About Kale From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-118

Make kale a healthy and tasty addition to your garden -- here's how:

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	If you've never considered growing kale in your garden ... how about starting some this season?
	Nutrient-rich soil is key to great results!
	Turning the soil properly helps ensure a good consistency.
	Water well -- remember to use a fine mist when the plants are getting started ....
	Ornamental kale: tasty and beautiful!

• Kale is known for its tasty and healthy leaves. Kale comes in several different colors and shapes. No matter which kind you choose, the leaves are the part you eat. Kale and other cool weather crops are an important part of healthy eating. Many of the vitamin packed fruits and vegetables are grown in the summer.

• Kale grows best in rich loamy soil. It will grow in other types of soil, but the flavor won't be as rich. Like other leafy greens, Kale needs lots of nitrogen. Add lots of composted manure to your garden bed. One way to make sure the soil is rich in nitrogen is to plant Kale where peas were grown the previous season. Peas leave nitrogen in the soil and by rotating your crops you can take advantage of this nutrient bonus. Kale roots grow horizontally just below the surface of the dirt so make sure your entire planting bed is full of loose, rich soil. Turning the soil over with a pitchfork can help add oxygen to heavy clay dirt.

• Kale is best grown in rows. That way you will be able to reach between the rows to harvest the tender outside leaves of the kale plants as they grow. The seed pack says to sow seeds thinly along the rows. It's easy to do this with your fingers or a seed sower and then gently cover the seeds with about a half-inch of loose soil. Kale matures in about 60 days.

• Kale can be grown as a spring or fall crop, but fall kale tends to have a richer and sweeter flavor. This is because kale heads that mature in cooler weather are more tender than Kale that matures in warm weather.

• Add a very fine layer of pine mulch around the rows of kale. Do this mostly to keep the ground cool and moist since while it is warm outside. As the seedlings come up, add more mulch around the plants and in the rows. As the temperatures drop the mulch will help keep the plants warm. Water in the seeds and mulch using a water hose with a mister attachment. The fine mist will wet the ground but it won't wash the seeds off of the rows.

• Kale doesn't have a lot of pest or disease problems, that's part of what makes them so easy to grow. A lot of the problems they do have come from the soil. One of the most important points to remember when planting Kale is not to plant it in the same spot that previously held any member of the cabbage family. That will make it more difficult for those pesky pests to find your Kale.

• Ornamental Kale has become very popular in landscape as well as garden design. The colorful leaves have pink, purple or white centers. You can eat the small tender leaves, but they're usually left in the garden for winter color or they're used as plate garnishes in fancy restaurants. The ornamental Kales can be found in the annual flower section of your local garden or home improvement center. The seedlings are easy to transplant and they’ll survive through the winter in southern climates.