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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 21, 2018 0:50:57 GMT -5
Ok so I read through the other kale thread and wasn't sure whether to resurrect it or start new.
Ive never grown kale. What do you do when you don't know what your doing? You go big or you go home. I ordered 3 types. I like it, so why not.
1. Red Russian 2. White Russian 3. Vates Blue Curled
after reading the other thread, I discovered it could be a winter crop for me. Can I start it now though?
How many plants of each for a family of say 4 to 6 people. It would probably be just me and wife, but we count and 2/3 people each. Laughing!!!
we eat it now 3 to 4 times a week.
What about pests? Anything bother it?
what should I plant it near or what should I not plant it near?
how heavy of a feeder is it?
I think the other thread mentioned start indoors. Is that correct? If so, at what point is it set out.
HELP!
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jan 29, 2018 10:56:33 GMT -5
Lacinato kale also known as Dinasaur kale is my favorite. It is a winter crop for me.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 29, 2018 11:29:11 GMT -5
You had me at The Year of Kale! It is my favorite vegetable to add to pretty much everything. Every stir fry, casserole, braise, stew gets a few kale leaves chopped up into it while I have it going. When it's baby sized a few leaves will grace a salad, but I don't prefer the raw treatments to kale much. Lacinato is also my favorite, but the Red and White Russian varieties are also tasty. I've personally not been pleased with the curled varieties- they don't taste like much to me and remind me of salad bar garnish. But I've never grown Vates Blue Curled, and I also live in a completely different climate, so you may have better results. I'm sorry I know nothing about growing kale in Texas. I start my seeds indoors in April to be planted out in May. After they've put in a few leaves in the ground, I start plucking the occasional leaf here and there. If you have lots of plants, you can pluck a few here and there and end up with a whole pile and the plants still look full. Here's one of my kale patch pictures from last year. I pluck leaves all season long- they are cut and come again for me. They grow through the hot summer, and continue growing until it gets bitterly cold. The only pest that affects them for me is the occasional cabbage moth, but the cabbage moths FAR prefer every other cabbage-like plant, so there is only the occasional worm hole here and there. If you send me a PM with your address. I'll send you some Lacinato seeds. You won't be sorry. It's called dinosaur kale for a reason, because it gets SO big- a few leaves go a long way.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 29, 2018 11:37:46 GMT -5
This was the kale in my community garden last summer. To answer a few of your other questions, it is not a heavy feeder at all. However, it will get more robust and be more happy if you give it a balanced snack every once in a while (I use Garden Tone). But, should life happen and you end up neglecting it, as long as it has regular water, it will make a hearty effort. It takes up a fair amount of real estate, but is a good companion to beets, swiss chard, herbs, garlic, lettuce, radish, spinach and a few others. If you plant it right, it can offer a nice shade for your lettuces and maybe help extend the season by a couple of weeks for them. I don't think that kale and tomatoes grow nicely together, but I think that's more because they both want the same vertical space to grow in. Kale is best planted with other veggies that will stay close to the ground. It will also grow quite the taproot that can be a challenge to pull out at the end of the season. In your climate, if you can get the kale to grow in the first place and survive a growing season, you should be able to let it go to seed and then collect the seeds. My season isn't long enough for that, sadly.
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Post by Gianna on Jan 29, 2018 17:48:35 GMT -5
I also grow the dino kale, and a couple others. What I have come to prefer is collard greens. To me they are pretty much the same thing, and both are in the same species. What I prefer about collard greens is the leaves are flat and easier to clean. No nooks and crannies for bugs to hide. I don't need any added protein.
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Post by daylilydude on Jan 30, 2018 5:32:49 GMT -5
I also grow the dino kale, and a couple others. What I have come to prefer is collard greens. To me they are pretty much the same thing, and both are in the same species. What I prefer about collard greens is the leaves are flat and easier to clean. No nooks and crannies for bugs to hide. I don't need any added protein. YES YOU DO... BACON...
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