How to Plant and Grow Kale for Its Tasty Leaves

Find out how to grow kale as a cool-season vegetable in fall or spring.

Kale (Brassica oleracea) is a popular vegetable for salads, fresh-blended smoothies, and soups. Whether you cook kale or eat it raw, this cool-weather vegetable tastes similar to cabbage. However, its loose, upright, wavy-edged leaves don’t form a head like cabbage. Although kale is classified as a biennial, hybridization developments mean kale is typically grown as an annual. Occasionally, kale flourishes outside its normal growth habits and sticks around as a short-lived perennial. This guide covers how to grow kale as a vegetable in your garden.

Where to Plant Kale

Plant kale in fertile, well-drained garden soil in a location that gets at least six to eight hours of sun per day. It tolerates some shade and is extremely hardy. If you have a small garden space, you can plant kale in soil you’ve already used for potatoes or peas. You can also grow it in a container and move it to a shady area during the summer.

How and When to Plant Kale

For spring plantings, sow seed indoors six to eight weeks before your area’s last spring frost date, or purchase transplants from nurseries. Whether you go with seedlings or transplants, the plants should be planted in the garden one to two weeks before the last spring frost date for your area.

For fall plantings, sow seeds indoors in early July and plant the seedlings in the garden in mid-August. The plants tolerate light frosts.

Plant kale seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart, thinning to the most robust seedlings to 18 inches apart. Plant transplants 18 inches apart in rows 24 to 36 inches apart.

Kale Care Tips

Kale requires little maintenance and is easy to grow when its basic requirements are met.

Light

Kale grows best in full sun for six to eight hours a day. During the summer, it benefits from afternoon shade. It performs poorly when daytime temperatures consistently exceed 80°F.

Soil and Water

Kale thrives in organically rich, consistently moist, well-drained soil. Add a 2-inch layer of compost in the growing location before planting kale to create a foundation for vigorous plants.

Supply kale plants with about 1 to 2 inches of water per week. Avoid splashing water onto the leaves as much as possible to prevent plant diseases; installing drip irrigation or soaker hoses will help.

Related: The 8 Best Soaker Hoses of 2024 for a Thriving Garden

Temperature and Humidity

Grow kale in cool temperatures, and don’t worry—kale can tolerate light frosts. This hardy vegetable can survive temperatures as low as 5°F. Typically, kale leaves acquire their best flavor after a little fall frost. In mild winter climates, plants often survive winter and continue to produce leaves until they bolt in spring.

Fertilizer

When seedlings are 4 inches tall, fertilize them with a liquid high-nitrogen plant food. Whether applying liquid or granular fertilizer, keep the product at least 2 inches away from the base of the plant and follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Pruning

Kale needs no pruning, but harvesting the big outer leaves and letting the center continue to grow keeps the plant producing.

Potting and Repotting Kale

When growing kale in a pot, choose a container 12 inches in diameter and with a volume of at least 5 gallons for one plant. Fill the container with garden soil that has been amended for good drainage or potting soil. As an annual, kale doesn’t require or benefit from repotting.

Pests and Problems

Rotate kale crops to reduce soil-borne disease. Don’t plant kale in the same location more often than once every three years.

Watch for cabbageworms, cabbage loopers, aphids, and cutworms on kale leaves. To control these pests that eat holes in the kale leaves, prevent them from getting to the plants by placing row covers over them in late spring and early summer.

Harvesting

Harvest kale leaves when they grow to the size of an adult human hand. Baby greens are ready for harvest about 20–30 days after planting. Mature leaves are fully grown in 50–75 days. To keep the plant thriving, harvest only three or four leaves from each plant at a time. A light frost brings out kale’s sweet side.

Related: When and How to Harvest Kale from Your Garden

Types of Kale

Kale varieties come in different colors, leaf shapes, sizes, and offer characteristics such as improved heat or cold tolerance. Here are a few popular choices:

‘Toscano’

Brassica oleracea ‘Toscano’, also known as “dinosaur” kale, has long, thin, deep green puckered leaves that might remind you of a dinosaur’s skin. It tolerates heat and cold. It is less bitter than curly leaf kale.

‘Red Russian’

‘Red Russian’ kale is an edible Siberian variety with purple stems and purple-veined, flat blue-green leaves. It is one of the most tender curly kale varieties and is ideal for garnishes and sautéing.

‘Winterbor’

Curly-leaved ‘Winterbor’ kale has finely ruffled dark green leaves. It is tall, vigorous, and highly winter-hardy, and its leaves become even frillier in cold weather.

‘Redbor’

‘Redbor’ is a hybrid that features frilly burgundy-red leaves that darken and become frillier in cold weather. It is similar to ‘Winterbor’ except for leaf color.

‘Dwarf Green Curled’ 

‘Dwarf Green Curled’ kale is a dwarf variety with tightly curled 12- to 18-inch leaves and excellent flavor. It is very hardy and ideal for containers.

Garden Plans for Kale

Try growing kale with other vegetables by using the following garden plan as inspiration.

French-Inspired Garden Plan

This vegetable garden plan features a central diamond-shaped bed with four larger raised beds around it and wide brick pathways running between them. A row of ornamental perennials or shrubs of your choice can serve as a hedge around the perimeter, set off by a white picket fence. The raised beds are filled with a variety of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers, as a nod to the efficient yet beautiful kitchen gardens of Medieval monasteries.

VIEW THIS PLAN

Frequently Asked Questions

Do kale chips stay crispy?

Kale chips stay crispy if you cook them correctly and let them cool completely. Here’s how to make kale chips that are crispy and delicious: Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place kale leaves on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp.

How long does kale last in the refrigerator?

The refrigerator’s crisper drawer is the best place to store kale. There, it will last five to seven days after harvest.

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