Gardening

August 13, 2012 by admin

For my first post, I wanted to share about a super food that I have grown to love, kale. It’s one of those hardy greens that can be easily grown from seeds or starts. In my rooky days, I’ve used kale starts purchased from the farmer’s market. But after a couple of years of growing organic produce in my backyard, I started my kale bounty from seeds. You can start seeds directly in your planter box or use small pots or paper-type egg cartons like I did below. These Costco egg cartons are great because they are free, biodegradable, and easy to transplant when they are ready. I’m all about reuse and recycle!

I started my seeds in early spring, sometime in April with seeds I purchased from New Seasons and Fred Meyer. You can also buy your kale seeds from Amazon or you might try Kale Toscano or Lacinato variety from Amazon. By two to three weeks old, like the picture below, they are ready to be transplanted. I simply use my hands and pull the individual “egg slots” apart and put it in the soil, egg carton and all!

Once your kale looks like the picture below or younger you can harvest the leaves for a yummy baby kale salad. I personally love baby kale salads, that’s why I planted them closer together so that they don’t grow too big and I harvest them often. Kale likes moist soil so make sure you water those babies. For a fall and winter harvest, plant kale again in July or August. Kale tastes best in cold weather. Heat, on the other hand, has a way of making kale bitter tasting. By the way, my kale survived the snow last year and I had the sweetest kale after the frost.