Kale

01 About

The most nutritious and cold-hardy crop you can grow. Kale soldiers on through the coldest winters and actually improves with frost. Available in curly green, flat Cavolo Nero, and red types, it fills the hungry gap from October through to March when little else is growing. A true allotment workhorse that deserves a place in every UK kitchen garden.

02 What to Grow

Kale divides into three main types. Curly green kale — the classic allotment variety — produces dense, tightly frilled leaves and is the hardiest of all. Cavolo Nero (Tuscan or Black kale) has long, dark, pebbled leaves with an earthy, rich flavour that is outstanding braised or in soups. Red kale varieties add colour to the plot and have a milder, sweeter taste excellent raw in salads. All three are highly productive, harvesting continuously from a single plant from October through to March.

03 Varieties

The number of varieties shown for each crop is based on UK consumption data (2025/26) — the more popular the crop, the more variety choices we include.

🥬 Curly Green Kale

The classic British allotment kale. Tightly frilled leaves, very hardy, and productive from October to March. Real-life photography.

Dwarf Green Curled

Curly Green

The traditional British allotment kale. Compact, very hardy, and reliable. Excellent flavour after frost. The benchmark for curly kale.

• Beginners
• Hardy

Starbor F1

Curly Green

Very uniform, tightly curled dark green leaves. Strong upright habit and excellent mildew resistance. Good for successional picking over a long season.

• AGM
• Hardy

Winterbor F1

Curly Green

Tall, vigorous curly kale with very high yields. Outstanding frost hardiness — one of the best for overwintering in exposed northern plots.

• AGM
• Hardy
• High Yield

🌑 Cavolo Nero (Tuscan Kale)

Elegant dark blue-green leaves with a rich, earthy flavour. Outstanding in soups and braised dishes. Real-life photography.

Cavolo Nero

Tuscan

The definitive Italian kale. Long, dark, pebbled leaves with exceptional depth of flavour. Best picked young for salads or braised for soups.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour

Black Magic F1

Tuscan

More uniform than open-pollinated Cavolo Nero with heavier yields. Dark, deeply blistered leaves. Excellent bolt resistance and a long cropping season.

• AGM
• ⭐ Flavour

Nero di Toscana

Tuscan

Heritage Italian variety with very dark, strap-like leaves. Superb flavour when braised or added to ribollita. A staple of Italian cucina povera.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour

🟣 Red & Purple Kale

Striking colour in the kitchen garden and on the plate. Milder flavour than green types — excellent raw in salads. Real-life photography.

Red Russian

Red

Flat, lobed leaves with purple stems and a mild, sweet flavour. One of the best kales for raw use in salads. Less hardy than curly types but very productive.

• Heritage
• ⭐ Flavour
• Salads

Redbor F1

Red

Deeply frilled, rich purple leaves that are highly ornamental as well as delicious. Very hardy and productive. One of the most striking brassicas in the winter garden.

• AGM
• Hardy
• Ornamental

Red Autumn

Red

Compact red kale with good cold hardiness. Produces from October onwards. Colour intensifies after frost. Works well in mixed plantings and smaller gardens.

• Hardy
• Container

04 Where to Source

Kale seed is among the most affordable and widely available vegetable seed in the UK. Online seed companies carry the fullest range including heritage varieties. Garden centres stock plug plants from April, which are useful if sowing time has passed. Market stalls often sell all three types as plugs in spring.

📦 Seeds

Seed offers by far the widest choice of kale types — curly, Cavolo Nero, Red Russian, and more — and is cheap enough to try several varieties in one season.

🏪 Garden Centres

Garden centres stock young kale plug plants from mid-spring, a convenient option if you missed the sowing window or only need a handful of plants.

🛒 Market Stalls & Nurseries

Local nurseries and market stalls often sell kale as sturdy young plants alongside other brassicas, a good option for a small number of ready-to-plant seedlings.

05 Companion Planting

✅ Grow nearby

• 

  🌸 Nasturtiums

  Trap crop for cabbage white butterflies and aphids. Nasturtiums planted at the bed perimeter draw egg-laying butterflies away from the kale plants. Check nasturtiums regularly for caterpillars.

• 

  🌿 Thyme

  Thyme planted near kale is said to deter cabbage white butterfly. Its aromatic oils may confuse egg-laying females and reduce pest pressure across the brassica bed.

• 

  🧅 Onions

  Onions and brassicas grow well as neighbours — onion scent may help deter aphids and cabbage white butterflies from settling on nearby kale plants.

❌ Keep apart

• 🍅 Tomatoes — Nightshades and brassicas compete for nutrients and are best kept in separate beds, rotating each year.
• 🍓 Strawberries — Brassicas can suppress strawberry growth in close proximity. Keep a clear gap between the two.
• 🌿 Fennel — Fennel root chemicals inhibit the growth of most nearby vegetables including all brassicas.

06 Sowing — How To

1. 

   Prepare your seedbed

   Rake a fine, level seedbed or fill modules with seed compost. Kale is unfussy but prefers firm, fertile soil with good moisture retention.

2. 

   Sow at 1cm depth

   Sow two seeds per station at 1cm depth, 15cm apart in a seedbed. In modules, one seed per cell. Germination in 5–7 days at 15–20°C.

3. 

   Thin and grow on

   Thin to the strongest seedling once both have germinated. Grow on in the seedbed or modules until plants reach 10–15cm.

4. 

   Transplant to final spot

   Plant out at 45–60cm spacing. Firm the soil well around each plant — stability is critical for overwintering kale.

5. 

   Net immediately

   Pigeons are the number one threat. Net immediately after transplanting with fine mesh held clear of the leaves. Keep nets in place throughout the season.

6. 

   Water in and mulch

   Water in well after planting. A mulch of compost or bark helps retain moisture and suppresses weeds through the growing season.

07 Regional Timing

Regional sowing & harvest timing

Region	Sow / plant	Harvest	Notes
Scotland & Far North	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	Direct sow or modules from April. Hardy enough for all Scottish gardens. · Apr – early Jun
Northern England	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	Direct sow from April. Transplant by late June for winter harvest. · Apr – Jun
Midlands & Wales	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	April sowings give the longest cropping season from October onwards. · Apr – Jun
Ireland & Isle of Man	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	April sowings give the longest cropping season from October onwards. · Apr – Jun
South & SE England	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	Sow by late June. Later sowings still crop well but for a shorter season. · Apr – Jun
South Coast & SW	Apr–Jun	Oct–Mar	Sow by late June. Mild winters allow near year-round harvest. · Apr – Jun

08 Using a Propagator

Kale germinates readily at cool temperatures and does not need a heated propagator. A lidded seed tray on a windowsill or in a cold frame is sufficient. Kale sown with artificial heat often produces drawn, weak seedlings — cool, steady conditions produce stronger plants.

Heated propagator

Not required for kale. If you do use a heated propagator, set it to no more than 15°C and remove seedlings to a cooler spot as soon as they germinate. Excess heat at this stage produces leggy growth that never fully recovers.

Standard unheated propagator — A lidded seed tray traps warmth and humidity around germinating seeds without electricity. Performance depends entirely on room temperature — best placed on a warm windowsill and used from March onwards. Replace the lid promptly after watering. Remove it completely the moment seedlings emerge to prevent damping off.

1. 

   Fill and firm

   Fill modules or a seed tray with fresh seed compost. Firm gently to remove air pockets — kale seedlings are prone to damping off in loose, wet compost.

2. 

   Sow at 1cm

   Press one seed per module to 1cm depth. In an open tray, sow thinly in rows 2–3cm apart. Cover lightly with compost and water with a fine rose.

3. 

   Place in cold frame

   Set the tray in a cold frame, unheated greenhouse, or on a sheltered windowsill. Close the lid at night. No additional heat needed.

4. 

   Germination

   Kale germinates in 5–10 days at 10–15°C. Once seedlings are through, prop the lid open slightly during the day to improve air circulation and reduce damping off risk.

Windowsill alternative: A bright south-facing windowsill can substitute from late February. Place a clear polythene bag loosely over the pot during germination. Remove immediately once seedlings appear.

09 Soil Requirements

pH

6.5–7.5

Best

Loam, Clay loam

Tolerates

Sandy loam, Clay

Avoid

Waterlogged, Very acid

10 Ongoing Care

💧 Watering

Water regularly through the first few weeks after transplanting. Once established, kale is remarkably drought tolerant but benefits from a thorough soaking during dry spells in summer.

🌱 Feeding

Apply a balanced granular fertiliser at planting. A nitrogen-rich liquid feed in mid-summer encourages the lush leaf growth that makes kale so productive.

✂️ Harvesting

Pick outer leaves from October onwards, working from the bottom of the plant upwards. Never remove the growing tip — it produces new leaves all season. Flavour genuinely improves after the first hard frosts.

11 Watch Out For

🐛 Insects & pests

• 🦋 Cabbage Moth Caterpillar — Wilting or collapse of the central growing point of cabbages and Brussels sprouts
• 🦋 Cabbage White Caterpillar — Yellow, ribbed, skittle-shaped eggs in neat clusters on the underside of leaves in summer
• 🐜 Aphids (Blackfly & Greenfly) — Curled, distorted, or stunted growing tips — aphids inject saliva that causes leaf curl to protect them
• 🐌 Slugs & Snails — Silver slime trails on leaves, soil, and pots — often the first sign before damage is found

🍄 Diseases to watch

• 🥦 Clubroot — Clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) is arguably the most feared soil-borne disease in UK kitchen gardens. It persists in the soil as resting spores for up to 20 years — meaning a bed that becomes infected is effectively lost for brassica growing for two decades without extraordinary intervention. Crop rotation is the most critical preventive measure.
• 🔵 Downy Mildew — Downy mildew is caused by oomycetes (water moulds) and is completely unrelated to powdery mildew despite the similar name. It thrives in cool, wet, humid conditions and is most damaging in spring and autumn. Each host plant has its own specific downy mildew species. Lettuce downy mildew can destroy an entire bed within days in the right conditions.
• 🩶 Botrytis (Grey Mould) — Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) is the most ubiquitous fungal pathogen in temperate gardens — present in virtually every garden soil and on plant debris. It becomes a disease only when conditions favour it: cool, humid, poorly ventilated environments with damaged or senescent plant tissue. In a greenhouse in autumn it can destroy an entire tomato or grape crop.

Full identification and treatment advice is in the Pests and Diseases sections.

12 Storage & Preserving

❄️ Refrigerate

Freshly cut kale keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge. Store unwashed in a sealed bag or container. Wash just before use.

🥶 Freeze

Blanch leaves for 2 minutes in boiling water, plunge into ice water, drain and freeze in portions. Frozen kale is excellent for soups, stews, and smoothies.

🍳 Cook from fresh

Kale is best cooked simply — sautéed in olive oil with garlic, or blanched and added to soups and pasta. Massage raw kale with oil to soften it for salads.

13 Expert Tips

14 Common Mistakes

15 See Also

• 🔄 Crop Rotation
• 🌼 Companion Planting
• ♻️ Composting