Kale — Vegetables

Brassica oleracea (Acephala)

Full sun, moderate watering — hardy anywhere in the UK.

Sow: Apr
Plant out: Jun
Harvest: Sep–Jan

Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Difficulty: Easy
Hardiness: H7
Season: autumn
Height: 50–100 cm
Spacing: 100 cm
Pets: Safe around pets

Grows well with

Coriander — Coriander left to flower beside kale draws in predatory insects and parasitic wasps that take out pests.Dill — Let dill flower next to your kale. The open flower heads feed the predators and parasitic wasps that work through the pests.Wild Fennel — Flowering fennel near kale brings in predators and parasitic wasps. Give it room, as it grows tall and seeds about.Nasturtium — Cabbage white butterflies like nasturtium too, so a patch sown next to your kale can take the egg-laying instead. It does not work every year.Chinese Cabbage — A few Chinese cabbages near your kale act as a decoy, pulling cabbage white butterflies away from the main crop.White Clover — Undersow your kale with small-leaved white clover. The green carpet makes the plants harder for cabbage root fly to pick out.Brassicas — Do not follow kale with another member of the cabbage family on the same ground. Club root spores can sit in the soil for twenty years, so move the group on each season.

Growing notes

Grows to 0.5-1 metres. Space about 50-100cm apart. At its best in autumn.