California Plants

Growing Dwarf Blue Curled, Vate’s Strain Kale can be a pleasure. If you didn’t have Kale until recently, as is the case with me, you’re in for a nice surprise. Kale flavor reminds me of a cross between broccoli, spinach, and cabbage. It is generally a deep green or blue. The leaves look a bit like lettuce or parsley, but more firm, and whitish at the edges. Kale is generally not eaten raw, but rather cooked in a bit of oil in a pan. Some varieties, such as this one, have so much flavor that no salt or seasoning is needed. This variety at times tastes as if salted, at other times tastes as if it has been seasoned, and yet other times just tastes nice and green and leafy. I believe the flavor comes from how it is growing. The better the soil it is growing in, the more flavor it will have.

Kale is easy to grow from seed. It generally sprouts within a week or two. I plant Kale plants close to each other, and thin them out within a month or two once they get 2-4 inches in height. They don’t mind being transplanted. Kale loves full sun. I generally have found that Kale does best for eating when I pick the outer larger leaves and leave at least 5 inside to keep growing out. As you can see, to have a notable size snack of Kale, you’ll need to grow a number of plants. You can fit about ten mature plants in a 5 gallon pot. From seed to full grown, this variety of Kale takes about 60 days. Roots go about 6 inches deep.

I put compost in the pot when planting seeds, and top off the pot with 2 inches of sterile soil on top. This makes sure the seeds will germinate when planted in the top half centimeter, and also gives them great nutrients once they are growing further. To fertilize, I always prefer an organic fertilizer. The numbers will be lower, but it will still work well.

Kale is also very beautiful. My favorite thing about Kale is that it is disease resistant. Cabbage worms and other insects do like Kale, so just be on the lookout for them.

Growing Kale - Dwarf Blue Curled, Vate