Kale cabbage: beneficial properties, cultivation, photos. Benefits of kale: cabbage for health Kale cabbage cultivation

Have you already seen a curly vegetable in bunches with the interesting name “kale” on store shelves? If you haven’t yet, then you will meet him soon. It won’t be long before it fills market and store shelves, because it is truly moving across the world by leaps and bounds. In order to be prepared for the moment of the first meeting, let's get acquainted with such a unique plant in advance and find out what kind of vegetable it is, what it is eaten with and what benefits does it bring to the human body?

Cabbage called “kayla” refers to annual vegetable plants and is a type of cabbage. It is grown for decorative purposes and as a fodder crop. Among all domesticated forms, kale cabbage is considered the closest to the wild one.

It has been around for a very long time. Even before our era, both curly and flat-leaved cabbage varieties were grown in Ancient Greece. Kale was widespread in European countries until the end of the Middle Ages.

Kale has lacy leaves that are purple and green and does not form a head. Since the stem is quite hard, only the leaves are eaten.

In different cuisines around the world, kale is used in cooking in different ways. For example, in Holland it is combined with mashed potatoes, the national dish “stamppot” is prepared and served with sausages. On the Black Sea coast of Turkey, soup is made from it, and in Japan it is used as a food additive.

Keila tolerates freezing well, after which it becomes even more aromatic and sweeter.

The most common type of this plant in our country so far is Tuscan kale cabbage. It has an unusual pimply-ribbed texture of the leaves, for which the plant received its other name “dinosaur”. They are located on a long, cone-shaped, light-colored stem. The leaves have an interesting color – dark green with a blue tint, the taste is rich and sweet (reminiscent of something between broccoli and spinach). Kale Tuscan cabbage has fairly large leaves, which significantly expands its culinary scope. For example, you can use them to make cabbage rolls.

Despite the fact that in America kale is also called “Russian cabbage,” this plant is not yet very widespread in Russia, so the price remains quite high - 250 rubles for a small bunch. However, the question of where to buy such a vegetable is no longer relevant, because you can find it in markets and supermarkets. It’s even better to start growing an interesting plant yourself in your garden beds. Moreover, kale cabbage grows in two months.

Beneficial features

If possible, you should try to add such a vegetable to your daily diet, because the benefits from it are enormous:

1. Kale contains a high content of chlorophyll, and it is a kind of blocking at the first stage, when healthy cells begin to transform into cancerous ones.
2. This variety is rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B6, K, C, antioxidants, amino acids, luteins and flavonoids.
3. Due to the folic acid it contains, kale cabbage normalizes female hormonal levels. It is especially recommended for pregnant women to use this plant, since it is during this period that doctors prescribe folic acid tablets.
4. The plant has anti-inflammatory properties. It will provide significant support in the fight against diseases such as osteoporosis, anemia, duodenal and gastric ulcers, constipation, and intestinal cancer.
5. Due to the bile acids contained, it promotes the proper absorption of fats.
6. It is low in calories and contains a minimum of carbohydrates.
7. Thanks to Omega-3 fatty acids, it helps reduce cholesterol, strengthen the immune system, and improve the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

Preparation

Kale cabbage recipes are very simple. The leaves are mainly used, but don’t rush to throw away the stem; you can make freshly squeezed juice or smoothie from it.

Salads

Kale Tuscan cabbage has found the greatest use in salads. Look at the photo how beautiful and bright the finished dishes turn out.

• Cut the red onion into half rings, the avocado and cherry tomatoes into small pieces; Tear the kale leaves, season with lemon juice and olive oil.
• Cut the avocado and celery stalk, grate the carrots; mix with pieces of cabbage leaves and season with Asian sauce.
• Tear the kale leaves; add some raisins and grated Parmesan cheese; season with balsamic vinegar and olive oil; sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top.

Chips

Kale chips are very tasty.

• To prepare them, wash the leaves from one bunch and dry with a kitchen towel (it is very important to remove all moisture so that the chips will turn out crispy).
• Tear the leaves into large pieces and place in a plastic bag.
• Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt, ground black pepper and other herbs and spices to the bag. Close the bag and shake thoroughly so that all the pieces of cabbage are coated with oil and spices.

Now take them out of the bag and place them on a baking sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 120 degrees for 35-40 minutes

Kale cabbage is an unusual vegetable and simply a storehouse of vitamins and microelements. It can be said to be a godsend not only for nutritionists, but also simply for people who want to eat delicious food.

The main distinguishing feature of Kale cabbage is that it does not have a head - it is leafy. Kale comes in dark grey, greenish and red shades. The leaves are large, curly, like a “fringe”, reminiscent of salad leaves.

In contact with

It is worth noting a very interesting fact that after the onset of cold weather, the leaves of Kale turn purple. Otherwise, Cale is called grunkol or browncol. This cabbage is known as “wild” cabbage, but in another way it is considered the founder of all kinds of cabbage, some call it American cabbage.

In the United States of America and Great Britain it is called "Russian red cabbage". The homeland of the vegetable remains unknown to this day; in all countries it is simply a “foreigner”. In the Russian Federation (RF), Kale was forgotten for a long time, but now it is gaining enormous popularity.

Plant proteins

1. Wikipedia talks about the beneficial properties of this cabbage. The vegetable contains a colossal amount of protein. Contains: 18 nonessential amino acids and 9 essential ones. Dishes from Kale can completely replace beef on the table; besides, proteins of plant origin are absorbed better than animals and bring tremendous benefits and energy to humans.
2. Kale contains Omega-3 essential fatty acid, which is so important for our body.

If you look at the photo, then you can see the amazing leaves of Kale!

Vitamins

Microelements

Of course, their quantity to some extent depends on the soil and conditions where the cabbage grows. However, the main components do not change in any way:

1. Calcium. There is much more of it than in dairy products. It is easier to digest because it is not burdened with casein.
2. Kale is extremely rich magnesium, like all “emerald” food products.
3. A component was found in cabbage sulforane, which is considered a cure for many diseases and also has a bactericidal effect.
4. Indole-3-carbinol, which inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
5. Phosphorus, selenium, potassium, sodium, copper, iron- This is an indispensable component in the human diet!
6. The vegetable helps in the fight against obesity, since the calorie content of Kale cabbage is only 50 kcal per 100 grams.

The latest research by scientists shows how Kale is useful for eye diseases (especially glaucoma), and for various chemical poisonings. It serves as a source for enhancing immunity, helping to reduce unhealthy cholesterol in the blood, while improving stomach function. The vegetable can, among other things, be used in a medicinal diet as a general tonic.

Cooking Kale

The most delicious dish is considered to be a salad made from young leaves, which goes well with onions, tomatoes, dill and parsley. And if you add boiled eggs to it and season with olive oil or sour cream, it will be a truly royal meal.

Kale leaves are delicious both fried and stewed. Kale tastes similar to spinach, but contains much less oxalic acid. You can also cook kale by steaming it with herbs, ground pepper, garlic, seaweed and sunflower oil.

In general, everything that can be prepared from ordinary cabbage is also rational for Kale. In this case, the food will be much healthier.

Growing

This plant is incredibly cold-resistant, in the autumn withstands extreme sub-zero temperatures (-15 ˚ WITH). It tastes even better after defrosting! The characteristics of its cultivation are similar to other types of cabbage.

There are not many varieties of Kale, but there is plenty to choose from: green, white, red and purple. For example, there are the following types:

Red kale

Most of the time Cale ripens 76-90 days after germination, in this regard, there is no need to grow seedlings at home; you can simply plant the seed in the ground, but only under a film. Sowing is carried out in the month of April, the temperature for seed germination is +5 or +6 ˚ C.

At the end of May, the formed plants are planted at intervals of 40-45 cm from each other in sunny, elevated places. The soil should be non-acidic, loose (with humus and ash). In addition, you need to take into account the factor that there is no stagnation of water and cool air. By the way, with optimal care, the bushes can reach about one and a half meters in height. The key task is still watering and loosening the soil. Like any cabbage, it necessary many times spud, especially in the summer.

In particular, new leaves will grow in place of old leaves if they are cut off all summer. The leaves can be stored (in the refrigerator) for about seven days, but it is better to freeze them, as this only improves their taste.

If you leave a certain number of bushes over the winter, then in the spring the cabbage will grow again and will delight you with an early harvest.

This is such a special and delicious Kale curly cabbage. It’s worth growing it in every garden!

The unique composition of biologically active substances and the healing properties of Kale cabbage for human health are quite obvious.

Where to buy Kale seeds

Very often, summer residents ask the question of where to buy Kale cabbage seeds? Despite the fact that this crop is only gaining popularity, seed material can be bought in almost every corner of our vast homeland.

It should be noted that you can buy Kale cabbage seeds in Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, the Urals, Minsk, Ukraine and other regions. The seed can be found at any gardening shopping center or ordered through an online store.

Kale cabbage variety is complete vegetarian and dietary food product, which can saturate the daily menu with easily digestible protein and riboflavins, as well as decorate any garden plot with its decorative appearance.

Kale cabbage (grunkol, brownkol, kale, curly cabbage, kale) - this type of cabbage does not form a head, produces a crop in the form of curly leaves of green, bluish-green, dark red or purple. It is often confused with lettuce leaves.

What does kale look like? The leaf rosette can be basal or palm-shaped, up to 1 meter high. It would seem that such a spectacular plant has a place in the flower garden, but Kale cabbage has a set of elements useful for the human body. It is unpretentious in care and can withstand temperatures down to -18 °C.

Kakusta kale as an ornamental and table crop

Often it is used simply to decorate flower beds and table dishes. But in vain, because grunkol is the closest relative of wild cabbage; it retains many microelements and vitamins. In terms of the composition of biologically valuable substances, it is more valuable than other leafy vegetables.

It is better to eat kale raw: in salads or smoothies. Over time, the leaves become coarser and develop a bitter taste: place them in the freezer for a while. You can also stew and cook soups.

Health benefits of kale collards

The plant is unique in its set of useful elements.

Let's take a closer look:

• The calcium content is higher than in milk, and it is absorbed 25% more efficiently. If you have a milk protein intolerance, kale is an excellent source of calcium.
• It has been awarded the title of “new beef”, since 200 g of cabbage contains a daily dose of protein (a set of 18 amino acids, like meat).
• High vitamin A content helps improve vision
• Natural antioxidant – contains large amounts of vitamin C.
• Useful for the prevention of cancer (contains Omega-3, sulforaphane, indole-3-carbinol).
• It takes pride of place in vegetarian and dietary menus.
• Contains magnesium in large quantities, which is especially useful for people suffering from excess elemental calcium in the body.
• It contains a number of other useful microelements (sodium, phosphorus, potassium), vitamins PP, K, and B in large quantities.

Preparing a site for kale cabbage

Selecting a location

• The plant needs a place under bright sunlight, only slight shade is possible.
• Soil: fertile, neutral reaction.

How to fertilize the soil

It is good if, in the fall, organic (3 kg of humus or compost per 1 m²) and mineral fertilizers (1 tbsp. azofoska per the same unit of area) were applied for digging. You can do this in the spring a couple of weeks before planting. If the soil is heavy clay, add an additional half bucket of rotted sawdust.

Predecessors

Desirable crop predecessors: potatoes, legumes, tomatoes.

How to grow kale from seeds in open ground

The culture does not like transplants and is cold-resistant, so the seeds are preferably sown directly into open ground.

Start sowing when the soil warms up to +4-5 °C (approximately mid-April).

• Make holes 1.5 cm deep, add a little humus, place 2-4 seeds, sprinkle with earth, compact a little, water.
• Maintain a distance of 45 cm between holes.
• Cover the crops with glass or film.
• After 4-5 days, remove the cover.
• Thin out the seedlings, leaving 1 strongest sprout in the hole.

The next step is to regularly water and loosen the soil.

Growing kale from seeds for seedlings at home

When to sow kale for seedlings?

Plant kale cabbage seedlings in mid to late March.

• It is best to use cassette boxes or separate containers.
• The soil required is light and fertile.
• Fill the sowing containers with soil, spill with water, place 2-3 seeds in each, deepening 1 cm.
• Cover the crops with film and maintain the air temperature at 24 °C.
• Remove the shelter when seedlings appear, lower the air temperature to 16-18 °C for a week.

How to care for seedlings

• regularly, moderately, but do not allow the soil to become waterlogged.
• Maintain bright lighting (use fluorescent lamps).
• Feed a couple of times with complex mineral fertilizers. Apply the first fertilizing after 2 weeks of growth, the second after another 2 weeks.

When and how to plant kale seedlings in the ground

Growing seedlings takes 4-6 weeks. When the sprouts reach a height of 8-10 cm and have 4 developed leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into open ground.

Transfer it into the ground along with the earthen lump. The root collar should be flush with the soil. Water thoroughly.

Caring for a plant in open ground

Watering and loosening the soil

Kale cabbage is moisture-loving. Water as the topsoil dries out. Use a watering can to water the leaves of the plant. The water should be warm.

After watering, loosen the soil between the rows, lightly hill the stems, and regularly remove weeds.

To reduce the frequency of watering, eliminate the need to frequently loosen the soil and prevent the appearance of weeds, mulch the soil with a thick layer of rotted sawdust or straw.

Feeding

The plant needs it, the main thing is not to overdo it: applying excess fertilizer is not beneficial, since excess nitrogen leads to the accumulation of nitrates in green products. The main thing is to adhere to the timing of fertilizing and observe the recommended concentrations.

• Apply the first fertilizing 14 days after planting in open ground (urea solution: 1 tbsp per 10 liters of water).
• After 2-3 weeks, feed with mullein solution (1 to 10).
• Apply the next fertilizing after 3-4 weeks (1 tablespoon of nitrophoska per 10 liters of water).

Feed kale cabbage in the evening after watering (1 liter of appropriate solution for each bush).

Diseases and pests of kale cabbage

Kale cabbage is susceptible to fungal diseases: downy mildew, powdery mildew, clubroot, gray and white rot. It is necessary to treat with a fungicide following the instructions. At an advanced stage, it is better to destroy the infected bush.

Succulent leaves attract various insect pests (cruciferous flea beetle, aphids, cabbage moths, cutworm and white moth caterpillars). Apply insecticide treatment.

Harvesting

Depending on the plant variety, harvesting begins after 2-3 months of growth in open ground. Start cutting when the leaves reach 20-25 cm in length. Cut the outer leaves first. You can cut the plant completely, leaving a stem 5 cm high - new leaves will soon appear. It is preferable to cut in the morning, when the leaves are most saturated with juice.

Young leaves have the most pleasant taste. They stay fresh in the vegetable section of the refrigerator for about a week. If you freeze them, the beneficial properties will not be lost, and the taste will become sweeter.

Types and varieties of kale cabbage with photo names and descriptions

Kale cabbage is divided into types:

• According to the structure of the leaf plates: wavy, curly, fringed.
• By height: tall (up to 1 m tall), medium tall (40-60 cm), short tall (up to 40 cm).
• According to the ripening period of the crop: late-ripening, mid-ripening, early-ripening.

Let's consider those suitable for growing in the middle zone.

Kale Redbor f1

Redbor F1 is a palm-shaped bush reaching a height of 80 cm. The leaves are double and dark purple in color.

Kale kale Reflex F1

The height of the plant is 80-90 cm. The leaf blades are corrugated, green in color, and have a pleasant taste. It tolerates cold well, which allows harvesting until late autumn.

Kale Black Tuscany or Tuscan Nero di Toscana

The leaf blades are oblong, wrinkled, green in color with a bluish tint. Harvesting: from the age of 2 months before the onset of frost.

Kale Kale Dwarf Green Curled

A bush up to 40 cm high with corrugated green leaves. Early ripening, cold-resistant variety.

Reaches a height of 50-60 cm. The leaf blades have wavy edges; they are colored gray-green with a central vein and a lilac-colored border.

Kale Scarlet Scarlett

The plant is 70-80 cm high. The leaves are double, dark green or dark purple.

Kale Siberian cabbage

Frost-resistant, which can be grown not only in the middle zone and Moscow region, but also in the northern regions.

Kale kale

The leaf blades are green, heavily corrugated, and have a sweetish taste.

The Premier variety grows quickly and is resistant to cold.

Cane - reaches a height of up to 1.9 m. The tall stem resembles a cane. The apical rosette consists of corrugated green leaves.

Have you already seen this curly lettuce called “kale” in stores? If you haven't seen it, you will soon - it will obviously be everywhere! Fans of healthy eating around the world are simply in love with kale (which is also called Russian cabbage) - and this fashion has also reached Russia.

In America, fashion has reached such proportions that it is already being parodied in comic videos on the Internet!

Many Hollywood stars can no longer imagine their diet without this superfood. For example, Gwyneth Paltrow claims that the secret to her slimness is kale juice. Actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley always starts her morning with a kale smoothie. Bette Midler, Jennifer Aniston and many others - everyone eats it! In Russia the situation is currently exactly the opposite. Of the several dozen visitors to the capital's shopping center we interviewed, not one knew what kale was - no one had even heard of such a word!

So what kind of vegetable is this? Culinary historians Olga and Pavel Syutkin conducted an entire investigation into kale, which they called “Round the World of Russian Cabbage.”

For the Syutkins, it all started with a photograph from a Californian friend - it showed a type of kale with purple veins, and the caption read: “red Russian cabbage.” How so? “Russian”, but no one here knows about it? Historians have traced the fate of this plant, which was noted in many European countries.

Here's what we found out. Collard greens were grown extensively throughout Europe. But by the beginning of the 17th century, it was almost completely replaced by more productive and disease-resistant cabbage varieties. In Russia, mainly in the north, due to its frost resistance, kale was very common right up to the end of the 18th century. It came to Europe again thanks to trade with Russia in Peter’s times and later! And already from Europe this species came to America, where it spread under the name “Russian cabbage”. Today, by the way, not all kale is called this way, but only part of the varieties. In general, there are a lot of them, says Daniel Lawrence, more than 50 varieties, but the most common are Tuscan and curly.

Daniel is an American living in Russia. Several years ago, he, the owner of a consulting company, came to Moscow for a while to train our businessmen in business English. But he stayed here for a long time. And all because of kale! Daniel couldn't find his favorite vegetable in Russia and decided that he would grow it himself! At first I did it on the balcony, at a friend’s dacha... And then it turned out that you could make money on kale - the idea was born in conversations with businesswoman Olga Korogodina, who came to Daniel to improve her English.

Daniel and Olga rented land in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region, continuously held demonstrations and tastings for restaurateurs, representatives of retail chains, convinced, proved, explained... And the Russian buyer, it seems, began to understand what kale is.

But is kale really such a miracle vegetable? Is it better than regular cabbage? Research shows yes. Kale exceeds its relative by more than three times in vitamin C content - 120 versus 36 milligrams per 100 grams, and is almost 4 times superior in magnesium. Kale is also much richer than cabbage in vitamins A and B6, iron, sodium, and potassium. Scientists all over the world praise it to the skies! As Greta Borge, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Food Research Institute, told us, kale is the leader in calcium content not only among vegetables, but also in comparison with milk. It turns out that kale contains 150 mg of calcium per 100 grams, and milk only 130. Moreover, only 30 percent of calcium is absorbed from milk, and 50 from kale!

Also, Greta Borge and her colleagues tested the polyphenols found in kale and concluded that these antioxidants are effective in the fight against colon tumors. An important advantage of kale is that it retains many of its properties even after heat treatment. The worst thing is cooking - with it, the leaves lose about 30 percent of their vitamins, they simply turn into water. But there are plenty of other cooking methods! Daniel and Olga specially prepared kale chips, vegetable rolls and, of course, the famous smoothie for us - so popular among Hollywood stars. Delicious!

Our conclusion: kale is exactly the case when very tasty food can be called alive, and not at all dead.

- We thank our regular partner, the Troika shopping center, for assistance in preparing the story

Or kale, or Gryunkol, or Brunkol, or Brauncol, or curly cabbage (lat. Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) is an annual vegetable plant, a variety of the Cabbage species of the Cruciferous family. This is a leafy vegetable that does not form a head, unlike other varieties of cabbage. Kale leaves resemble curly lettuce leaves. Kale is very similar to wild cabbage, but its origin has not yet been established for certain, although it is known that until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common vegetables in Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian traders brought it to Canada, and during the Second World War, due to its high nutritional value, kale began to be widely cultivated in Great Britain.

We will tell you about growing kale and caring for it and try to answer the following questions:

• – when to sow kale cabbage for seedlings;
• – how to plant kale cabbage seedlings;
• – how to grow kale seedlings;
• – how and when to plant kale cabbage in open ground;
• – what are the conditions for growing kale cabbage in open ground;
• – what varieties of kale cabbage are available for open ground;
• – how to harvest and store this variety of cabbage;
• – what are the benefits of kale cabbage, and is there any harm from it?

Planting and caring for kale (in brief)

• Landing: sowing seeds in open ground - at the end of April or at the beginning of May. Sowing seeds for seedlings - at the end of March or early April, planting seedlings in the ground - around mid-May or towards the end of the month.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: fertile, permeable, with a pH of 5.5-6.8.
• Watering: abundant, and even frequent during periods of drought: the soil on the site should be slightly moist all the time.
• Feeding: Every 6-8 weeks you need to add organic (herbal infusion or compost infusion) or mineral fertilizers to the soil. The first feeding is carried out when the leaves begin to grow.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: cabbage aphids, weevils, cutworms, moths, flies, cruciferous flea beetles, rapeseed sawflies and flower beetles, mole crickets, wireworms and slugs.
• Diseases: clubroot, blackleg, downy mildew, fusarium, ring spot, white and gray rot, mucous bacteriosis, rhizoctonia and viral mosaic.
• Properties: the plant is a valuable dietary product.

Read more about growing kale below.

Kale - description

So, kale is a leafy cabbage that does not form a head. Only the large curly leaves of kale cabbage, which are bluish, red, green, and, after cold weather, purple in color, are eaten. The stem of the plant is too hard and not suitable for food. Before the Renaissance, kale was the most widespread cruciferous crop in Europe, but it was cultivated as early as the 4th century BC in Ancient Greece, for which there is irrefutable evidence. Today in Holland, a traditional dish called stamppot is prepared from kale cabbage, mixed with mashed potatoes and served with sausages. In Japan, this variety is popular as an additive to the drink aojiru, and in Turkey, kale, rich in calcium and vitamins, is used to make soup.

When to sow kale for seedlings

Kale cabbage does not tolerate transplantation well, so it is better to sow it directly into open ground, but if you decide to use the seedling method of growing, then you need to sow the seeds 5-6 weeks before planting the seedlings in open ground - during the period from late March to early April. Choose the most favorable day of the lunar calendar for sowing cabbage and get started.

Growing Kale Seedlings

Kale cabbage is sowed for seedlings in containers or boxes, although it is better to sow three seeds in separate cups - kale, like any other cabbage crop, does not like transplants. Before sowing, kale seeds are soaked for 20 minutes in water at a temperature of 45-50 ºC, after which they are immediately immersed in cold water for 5 minutes. Then the seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth for 2-3 days and placed in a warm place, and as soon as they sprout, you can sow kale cabbage. The substrate for seedlings is made up of fertile soil and sand in a ratio of 1:10, fertilized with compost and disinfected by calcination in the oven or spilled with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are laid out in a well-moistened substrate at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other, planted to a depth of 1.5 cm, after which the soil is lightly pressed down and the crops are covered with film or glass. Keep the container in a warm place, removing the film daily for 1-3 hours for ventilation, and when shoots appear, the box is moved as close to the light as possible.

Kale cabbage seedlings need the same care as seedlings of any other cabbage - they need to be grown in slightly moist soil, remembering to ventilate the room, while at the same time protecting the seedlings from drafts.

Kale cabbage pick

Kale from seeds, like any other type of cabbage, does not tolerate pickling. It is planted in open ground along with a lump of earth, trying not to damage the central root, but before planting, the seedlings must undergo hardening procedures, consisting of daily sessions in the open air, the duration of which should gradually increase until the seedlings get used to the new habitat. When the seedlings are 45 days old, they have formed 4 leaves and reached a height of 8-10 cm, they can be planted in the garden bed.

Kale cabbage is planted in deep holes located at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other with row spacing of 45-55 cm. In each hole you need to throw 200 g of wood ash and 100 g of humus. The seedlings are immersed in the ground along the first pair of leaves, watered and the hole is filled with earth.

Planting kale cabbage in open ground

When to plant kale in the ground

If you decide to sow kale cabbage directly in open ground, then you need to do this in the last ten days of April or the first ten days of May - kale cabbage is cold-resistant, and its seeds begin to germinate already at 4-5 ºC. It is best to grow kale in a sunny area. Keep in mind that the crop can grow in one place for three years: if in the fall, when cutting cabbage, you leave a couple of centimeters of the stem above the surface, the next year you will get an early harvest of curly cabbage. The best precursors for kale are nightshade, legumes and pumpkin crops, and the worst are vegetables and cruciferous crops.

Soil for kale cabbage

The soil for kale cabbage must be fertile - if grown in clay or sandy soil, you will not achieve good yields, and the cabbage will have a mediocre taste. An indicator such as soil water permeability is also very important for kale cabbage, since the crop does not tolerate stagnation of moisture in the roots. The soil pH should be between 5.5-6.8 pH. If the pH is below 5.5, add compost to the soil, and if the pH is above 6.8, dig up the area with granular sulfur. The bed for kale cabbage is prepared in the fall - it is cleared of weeds and dug up, and immediately before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, humus and complex mineral fertilizers are added to the soil.

How to Plant Kale

Sow cabbage seeds in holes located at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other with row spacing of 45-55 cm. When sowing, as when planting seedlings, throw 100 g of humus and 200 g of ash into each hole, put three to five seeds , water them and cover them with soil. Then the bed is covered with plastic film, securing it along the edges so that the wind does not tear it down. Shoots will begin to appear in 5-7 days, and the film can be removed, and when inspecting the emerging shoots, the weak ones can be removed so that they do not interfere with the development of stronger plants.

How to Grow Kale

Caring for Kale Cabbage

How to grow kale? Caring for kale cabbage in open ground is not much different from caring for any other variety of cabbage. Growing seedlings need watering, weeding, hilling, loosening the soil, fertilizing and protection from pests and diseases. When the kale cabbage in the garden reaches a height of 20-25 cm, it needs to be hilled, and if weak leaves begin to appear on it, they must be removed immediately. To make it easier for you to care for cabbage and to prevent it from being affected by root rot, mulch the area with compost or humus.

Watering kale

To ensure that the water does not spread out when watering, but goes directly to the roots, make a circular furrow around each plant and pour water into it. In dry times, you will have to water the cabbage more often and more abundantly, and after each watering or rain you need to loosen the soil around the plants and between the rows. The soil in the garden bed should be slightly moist at all times, so be prepared to water your cabbage every day in the hot summer, but still allow the soil to dry out between waterings.

Feeding kale cabbage

Despite the pre-sowing application of fertilizers to the soil, kale cabbage in open ground requires organic fertilizing every 6-8 weeks. The first feeding will be needed when the leaves begin to actively grow. To feed plants, a herbal infusion is used, for which a quarter of the barrel’s volume is filled with water, then the barrel is filled with fresh herbs - grass, including weeds - at the rate of 10 kg per 100 liters of water, after which 2-3 kg are added for every 100 liters of water dry chicken manure and cover the barrel with a net. When foam appears on the surface of the mass, the contents of the barrel begin to be stirred daily to stimulate fermentation. Depending on the weather and air temperature, the herbal fertilizer is infused for one to three weeks. As soon as foam stops forming, the infusion can be used for feeding, diluting it in half with water. Fertilizer is applied strictly at the root.

You can prepare fertilizer for kale cabbage from compost: 2 liter jars of sifted compost are filled with a bucket of water and left for a day in the sun, after which the water is drained and used for root feeding.

Growing kale cabbage in the Moscow region

Readers ask us whether kale can be grown in the middle zone. Why not? This variety of cabbage is cold-resistant and resistant to sudden temperature changes, so with the right selection of varieties you can count on a decent harvest in the Moscow region.

Pests and diseases of kale cabbage

As for diseases and pests, they are common to all cruciferous crops. Among the insects that pose a danger to curly cabbage are cabbage aphids, weevils, cutworms, white moths, moths, flies, cruciferous flea beetles, rapeseed sawfly and flower beetle, as well as mole crickets, wireworms and slugs. And among the diseases you need to be wary of clubroot, blackleg, downy mildew, fusarium, ring spot, white and gray rot, mucous bacteriosis, rhizoctonia and viral mosaic.

We have already described all these diseases and all these pests more than once, so we will not repeat them. Let us only remind you that growing pest- and disease-resistant varieties and hybrids of cabbage, following agricultural practices and conscientious plant care reduces the risk of kale being damaged by insects, fungi, bacteria and viruses to a minimum.

Processing kale

You can protect young plants from cruciferous flea beetles and other pests by dusting their leaves and soil in the garden with wood ash, tobacco dust, or a mixture of these two powder preparations. However, rain washes away the protective powder, and the procedure has to be repeated.

You can spray the cabbage after sunset with seven percent table vinegar diluted in a bucket of water, or a solution of 200 g of chicken manure in 10 liters of water, which must be infused for at least a day before use.

An infusion of onion peels repels insects: pour half a kilogram of onion peel into 4 liters of hot water, leave for two days, filter, add a spoonful of tar shampoo to the liquid and spray the cabbage with this mixture once every 3-4 days.

Among the chemicals used to protect against pest invasion, Bankol, Kemifos, Fury, Bitoxibacillin, Kinmiks, Shar Pei, Aliot and others are used, but the use of chemicals is recommended only when it is necessary to save the crop, and folk remedies no longer help.

As for protecting kale cabbage from diseases, in this matter, as in pest control, preference should be given to agrotechnical methods - maintaining crop rotation, growing disease-resistant crop varieties, treating seeds before sowing in a fungicide solution, timely removal of weeds from the site and sucking pests that are carriers of viral diseases, and the destruction of plant residues after harvesting. These measures will protect kale from diseases more reliably than fungicidal drugs.

After sowing, kale cabbage in the ground ripens in 70-95 days, and grown in seedlings - in 55-75 days after planting in the garden. Cabbage leaves begin to be cut when the plant reaches a height of 20 cm. Do not overexpose ripe leaves on the bush - they become bitter and hard. A strongly grown plant can be cut at a height of 5 cm from the ground, and then curly cabbage leaves will again begin to form on the remaining stem.

The cut leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, but you can put them in the freezer and enjoy the taste of kale all winter long—freezing the leaves makes them taste brighter and sweeter.

Types and varieties of kale cabbage

Kale comes in several varieties, varying in height. Plants with a height of up to 35-40 cm are considered low, plants of medium height are up to 40-60 cm, and tall are those that can reach a height of 60 to 90 cm. Varieties of kale cabbage differ in the shape and texture of the leaves - they can be flat with wavy edges , medium curl or with terry edges. Varieties and varieties of kale cabbage are also divided into early, mid-season and mid-late. The best varieties of kale are:

• Green kale is a winter-hardy cabbage of medium ripening, reaching ripeness in 75 days from the moment of germination, withstanding frosts down to -15 ºC and capable of producing a harvest again next year. The plant reaches a height of 80 cm. The leaves of this kale are very curly. The variety is used for making soups and salads;
• Red cabbage kale– essentially the same green cabbage, only its leaves are red;
• Climbing kale– most often this variety has curly, soft, but crisp, purple leaves with a sweetish taste, strongly wavy at the edges. Plants of this variety are very attractive, so they are often planted as ornamental;
• Blue dwarf- a compact, easy to grow and very beautiful plant, which is often mistaken for an ornamental plant. Despite its small growth, this variety has good productivity. The taste of Blue Dwarf leaves goes well with the taste of pork, legumes, pasta, garlic and mushrooms;
• Black Tuscany– the unusual shape even for kale makes plants of this variety very attractive. The color of the dense, tuberculate leaves of Black Tuscany is dull green with a matte bluish coating. Their texture is similar to savoy cabbage leaves. They are collected from June to late autumn;
• Scarlet– this mid-season, winter-hardy, productive variety has curly, dark green leaves with a purple tint, and after the first frost their color becomes brighter. Plant height from 80 to 120 cm;
• Redbor– a two-year, mid-late, cold-resistant hybrid variety with curly leaves of an intense burgundy hue. The palm-like plant can reach one and a half meters in height. The leaves of this variety are used for salads, soups, drying, pickling and decorating holiday dishes;
• Reflex– a high-yielding, winter-hardy mid-season hybrid, distinguished by decorativeness and excellent taste of gray-green, highly corrugated leaves, which are considered a valuable component of dietary and healthy nutrition.

Kale cabbage for the Moscow region

Since almost all varieties of kale are cold-resistant, choosing varieties for the middle zone is not difficult. In the Moscow region you can grow Red Kale, Green Kale, Curly Kale, Premier Kale, Mermaid, Dude, Mizun, Cane Kale or Dino Kale. If severe frosts are expected in winter, just remember to cover the bed with a thick layer of mulch, and remove it in the spring when the snow melts.