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| Kale photo by missyredboots, Morguefile.com |
Growing Kale
Kale is best grown directly from seeds, so buy seed packages in the early spring when they’re available. You’ll need good garden soil with a pH around 6.5 or so. Kale can tolerate some shade, but sun is preferable.
Plant the seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inches deep in rows. Thin the rows so that the plants are about eight inches apart once the plants begin to grow. Keep them well-watered, and your kale seeds should germinate in just a few days to a week or so.
Kale can be harvested at almost any time during the growing season. You can snip off the leaves, like you do with lettuce, so that the plant continues to produce kale. One of the reasons many gardeners like growing kale is because it produces quite a lot from just a small patch.
When the plants are finished for the season, pull up the entire plant, shake off the soil from the roots, and compost the plant. Unless it’s gone to seed, it can recycle back into the compost for next year’s garden.
I also do not like kale. One of my tasks at cooking school was to make a raw kale salad. I tried, I really tried, but no matter what I added I could not make it taste good. When the instructor asked what I thought of it I said it tasted like last week’s garbage. He actually thought it was good. Must be one of those things you either like or dislike, like cilantro.
I make a soup with cannoli beans and kale which I really like. The kale softens right down.
JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE