What I’ve learnt about kale

There are several vegetables that polarise people’s opinions, and these include brussels sprouts, broccoli and, of course, kale. People either love them or hate them. I once had someone tell me that the best way to cook kale was with lots of olive oil and butter… so that it slid straight out of the pan and into the compost! 

I hate to say that I came to eat kale because I knew it was good for me, not because I liked the taste of it, and I don’t think I am alone. Mothers have told me their kids love kale, yet when I ask them how they serve it, it’s by making kale chips. Well, I don’t mean to be negative, but by the time you douse it in olive oil and salt, and then cook it to a crisp in the oven at a high temperature, I doubt there is any nutritional benefit left in it. Those who buy commercially grown kale may be feeling virtuous, however kale is included in the annual Dirty Dozen list created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in the US. Listed are the 12 vegetables and fruits found to contain the highest traces of pesticides used in commercial farming. 

I used to grow my own Tuscan kale, also called Cavalo Nero, but it was a dog of a plant to grow in my climate and everything wanted to eat it, particularly those pesky cabbage white butterfly caterpillars. The only way I could get perfect plants was to spray them regularly with a bioinsecticide, cover all the plants with insect exclusion netting (which didn’t look pretty), or be in my vegie patch several times a day to look for the grubs. I am a time-poor gardener and I had five young kids at the time, so that was never going to happen.

So, I started growing curly kales and Red Russian kale instead, as they were less susceptible to caterpillar damage. They didn’t need a net, and while I still found the occasional caterpillar causing damage, they were easy to manage.

Then about six years ago I started making a cold-pressed vegetable juice every morning, and I found the curly and Red Russian kales were harder to jam through the inlet shute, so I went back to growing Tuscan kale as it fed in so much easier. Now I grow it in a wicking bed, covered by insect-exclusion netting.

I also started collecting seeds of all the kale varieties I could find. I became obsessed with having a kaleidoscope of colours in the vegies I used in my juice, as each colour group represents different phytonutrients. Initially I was trialling them in my usual ad hoc way but have recently been paying more attention to detail. To my delight I found that some of the kales I grew tasted sweet, and they were really delicious raw. Last year I grew 12 different varieties, and the 10 that are pictured here were grown under netting in two wicking beds. My favourites were Chou Moellier, Tronchuda and Halbhoher Gruner. 

So if you don’t fancy eating kale, but are keen to get this superfood into your diet, try different varieties. Chances are you may actually like the taste of them.

The nuts and bolts of growing kale

POSITION Full sun in warm temperate and cold areas; semishade in tropics and subtropics
SEED OR SEEDLING? Either 
WHEN TO PLANT Autumn for seeds (late summer in cool areas); winter for seedlings (autumn in cool areas)
SOIL PREP Add aged manure or compost; add lime or dolomite if pH is less than 6.5 
WATER NEEDS Medium 
FOOD Apply a complete liquid fertiliser every two weeks 
GROWING TIPS Provide well-drained soil. Mulch with lucerne or pea straw. Thin seedlings to 30–40cm apart. 
WHEN TO PICK Harvest from eight weeks after sowing; pick lower leaves as needed.

Header image by iStock