Ornamental

Season Overview

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, and in Switzerland as feather cabbage. It owes these names to its feathery and curled leaves. This fast-growing leafy cabbage has green to red leaves, depending on the variety. And, like all types of cabbage (except cauliflower and broccoli), it only forms flowers in its second year. The frost hardiness of kale is excellent. In general, the plants can withstand -10°C without any problems. A layer of snow is the ideal frost protection. This means that even colder periods can be survived well. This makes kale an ideal vegetable that can stand and be harvested throughout the winter. The cold even makes some varieties milder in taste. However, there are also varieties that are very mild on their own, can be sown earlier and can be used as baby leaves.

Growing tips

Fantastic tasting leaves. They lack the slightly bitter taste of cabbage and taste tender, soft and crunchy. Harvest fresh, still soft leaves in summer for mixed salads or sandwiches, then the whole head in the fall. The plants can withstand some sub-zero temperatures so that we can harvest long into the year. This variety has curled leaf edges, some of the inner leaves are then bright pink, white or purple in the fall. This cabbage is really pretty. The variety has even established itself in the trade as an ornamental plant. Habitat: Sun, partial shade Life form: annual Usable parts: Leaves Use: Vegetable Growing height: 20cm

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Very humid

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

High

Seeding distance

30 cm

Row spacing

30 cm

Seeding depth

2 cm