There are numerous varieties of kale available on the internet from seed companies such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. (http://www.rareseeds. com/), Kitazawa Seed Co.
(http://www.kitazawaseed. com/), and Johnny’s Selected Seeds (http://www. johnnyseeds.com/). Although kale tolerates summer heat, it grows best in the spring and fall.
kale flowers, The highly curled, bluish-green leaves (some varieties have plain leaves) do not form a solid head. Kale is a vegetable with green or purple leaves. It is also called borecole. It is in the group of vegetables called Brassica oleracea or wild cabbage. The leaves are the edible part of the plant.
kale flowers, The taste of leaves depends on variety and on weather conditions. Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) is cool-season annual broadleaf best used in cover crop mixes. Kale is an excellent source for livestock grazing and very good for weed suppression. Kale photos courtesy of Gail Hermenau. This information is brought to you by the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, a service of the UD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources — a land-grant institution.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider. Like all Brassicas, kale and collards are heavy feeders, and benefits from a side dressing of composted manure or all purpose granular fertilizer two weeks after transplanting. Kale (Brassica oleracea) is a cool season biennial in the mustard family. It is very closely related to cabbage and very easy to grow.
