Kale cabbage (kale) is an almost exotic vegetable for our gardeners. It is not only tasty and healthy, but also extremely beautiful - it is often used in landscape design. We learn how to plant and grow this unusual cabbage on your site.
Appearance and features of kale cabbage
Kale is easy to distinguish from all other types of cabbage - it does not have a head of cabbage. Externally, kale with curly leaves is similar to a salad. The culture is more known as decorative - gardeners are attracted by unusual curly leaves. Kale cabbage has many other names - for example, bruncol or gruencol.
Short botanical description:
- Belongs to the crucifer family.
- Leaves - corrugated or carved along the edge, collected in a socket. Depending on the variety, they are evenly distributed over the stump or concentrated at the apex. The color of the leaves varies from shades of green to purple and red. The surface is smooth to bubbly.
- The stump is unprecedentedly high - it grows more than 1 m.
Leaves in kale curl immediately as soon as they appear - this feature makes it easy to distinguish seedlings of this species from other types of cabbage.
Plant characteristics
Characteristics of Kale Cabbage:
- The leaves themselves are edible; the stump is hard and tasteless.
- Harvested several times during the season - some leaves are cut off, others grow instead.
- In the southern regions, you can grow on one site for several years in a row. Wintered under cover, gives an early harvest of vitamin leaves.
- Kale is in demand in cooking. Leaves are eaten fresh, made salads, cook a variety of dishes - from stewed cabbage to chips.
- 100 g contains 3.3 g of protein (1/2 daily rate), 8 g of carbohydrates and 0.7 g of fat. Calories - 50 kcal per 100 g.
- High frost resistance - the plant withstands frosts down to minus 15 ° C.
Origin
It is not known for certain where the kale was first grown. According to scientists, this is the oldest variety of wild cabbage, but our gardeners have become interested in feces only recently.
It is known that kale was grown in the 4th century BC. in ancient Greece. Today, this culture is grown everywhere - in the Netherlands, Turkey, Japan and other countries.
Variety of species
Kale kale is divided into species according to the following characteristics:
- Leaf structure:
- curly
- wavy;
- fringed.
- Cabbage Height:
- undersized - up to 40 cm;
- medium-sized - 40-60 cm;
- tall - up to 1 m or more.
- Ripening dates:
- early ripening;
- mid-season;
- late ripening.
Among the varieties of kale, there are many decorative ones - these are the results of the work of breeders from Holland and Japan. The Dutch first brought cabbage with red and pink leaves, and then the Japanese gave it a spherical shape. Today, a huge number of varieties has been bred, among which you can find cabbage both for food and for decorating the garden.
Leaf cabbage Reflex F1
A popular hybrid for diet food. It has excellent taste. Plant height reaches 90 cm.
The growing season is 80 days. The leaves are dark green, corrugated, collected in a semi-vertical outlet. Fruiting lasts until late autumn. This hybrid is unpretentious and productive.
Tuscany (Italian Black Calais)
The leaves are dense and elastic, oblong, long, dark green in color, with a bluish tint. The surface is bubbly. The leaves are slightly curly, in appearance they resemble Savoy cabbage, only the leaf shape of these varieties of cabbage is different.
The variety is frost-resistant, withstands temperatures up to minus 15 ° C. Leaf length - 60 cm. Ripens in 60 days after planting. Harvest begins to be harvested two months before frosts. Tuscan kale is almost odorless, only the aroma of ordinary cabbage is heard a little. It contains a lot of omega-3s (fatty acids), vitamin C and lutein.
Red Russian Kale ("Red Russian")
The leaves are intense green, openwork, pronounced wrinkled. Their surface is streaked with scarlet veins. In the cold, these veins turn purple. Very frost-resistant variety - withstands frosts down to minus 18 ° С.
The variety is unpretentious, good as a vegetable and garden culture. The leaves of the red Russian feces are delicate, sweet, distinguished by a spicy flavor.
Leaf cabbage Redbor F1
One of the most popular hybrid varieties. The leaves are dense, curly. Stem height - up to 80 cm. Refers to the late ripening group. The weight of the plant is 0.2-0.7 kg. Great taste, the variety is used for decorative and culinary purposes.
The outlet is semi-vertical type, the color of the leaves is dark purple. Very frost-resistant - withstands frosts down to minus 18 ° C. After frost, the leaves become juicier and soft. This beautiful plant is often used to decorate dishes. The appearance of Redbor F1 is affected by the amount of sun and soil moisture.
Cane Kale
One of the highest grades. Kale cane reaches a height of 1.9-2 m. Its stalk is hard and strong. They say that from this stem you can make real canes.
The rosette, centered on the top, is assembled from long corrugated leaves of saturated green color.
Scottish Kale (or Curly Blue)
In England, feces is known as Scottish or Siberian. The leaves of the Scottish Kale are not as carved and curly as in other varieties. Differs in the increased frost resistance. Suitable for growing in the northern regions. Here, culture reaches maturity in 80 days.
This is a hybrid variety with early ripening. The plant is compact, height - 90 cm. The leaves are bright green. Differs in high productivity. Good in salads, suitable for long storage. You can freeze. Seedling method is recommended.
Other varieties
Kale cabbage has dozens of interesting varieties, among them:
- Tintoreto. Of all the varieties, it is distinguished by the lightest leaves - they are a light green color. It is used for decorative purposes.
- Scarlet. Middle early cabbage. It features an interesting color transition in leaf color. They are first green, then purple, and after frost - purple-blue.
- Green It looks like Red Calais, but the color of the leaves is dark green. Leaves are covered with a waxy coating. The bush is large, the purpose is universal.
- Cadet. Mid-late variety, tolerates frost well up to -15 degrees Celsius. The leaves are curly, tender, there are a lot of them on the bush. The color of the leaves is green.
Cabbage Kale "Tintoreto"
Cabbage kale "Scarlet"
Green kale cabbage
Cabbage Kale "Kadet"
Pros and cons of growing
Advantages of Kale Cabbage:
- Undemanding to growing conditions and to care.
- It tolerates temperature extremes, heat, cold, frost.
- A unique composition, many vitamins and nutrients.
- High yield.
- A large number of varieties.
- Decorativeness.
- Resistance to disease.
- Leaves grow quickly - no need to wait long for the harvest.
Disadvantages:
- Needs frequent watering.
- Poorly accustomed after transplantation.
- It has a number of contraindications - for people with kidney disease.
- Increased photophilicity.
Benefit and harm
Kale is a unique source of nutrients. This is a low-calorie and easily digestible product, its use:
- strengthens the immune system;
- improves overall health;
- It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects;
- lowers blood cholesterol;
- removes toxins and toxins;
- improves vision - strengthens the retina, is a prophylactic for cataracts;
- strengthens teeth;
- improves skin condition;
- slows down the aging process.
With all the usefulness of feces, feces can damage people with gastric diseases. Kale can trigger an exacerbation of gastritis, chronic diarrhea, flatulence, peptic ulcer, dysbiosis. Also, a negative effect can be exerted on the thyroid gland - if there is a chronic disease of this organ.
Landing time
Kale, like white cabbage, can be grown in two ways - seedlings and direct sowing of seeds in the ground. Seedling method allows you to get an early harvest.
Landing dates:
- Seeds in open ground are sown in late April or in the first decade of May - the exact timing depends on the climatic characteristics of the region.
- Seedlings are sown in late March or in the first ten days of April.
- Planting seedlings in open ground is made in the second half of May.
Planting seedlings
Kale, like any cabbage, loses growth after a transplant, takes root for a long time, so they prefer to sow it immediately in the ground. But the seedling method has its advantages - the crop can be obtained a month earlier.
Sowing seeds for seedlings
Seeds are sown 1.5 months before transplanting into the ground. For growing use seedling boxes or containers. The best option is to sow in separate glasses, then the seedlings do not have to dive. Dive is an extra fuss and transplant, which adversely affects the growth and development of cabbage.
Seed preparation:
- Soak for 20 minutes in heated water (45-50 ° C).
- Immersion in cold water - for 5 minutes.
- Exposure in a weak (1%) solution of potassium permanganate - 20 minutes.
- For 2-3 days, placed in a moistened tissue. Seeds germinate in a warm place.
- When the seeds hatch, they are sown in containers or a glass filled with soil mixture.
For growing seedlings, use a purchased substrate or independently prepare a soil mixture - from fertile soil and sand. Or another version of the mixture is to take two parts of peat, part humus, part fertile soil and half part sand. On the soil bucket add 3 tbsp. l wood ash.
Sowing order:
- Seeds are neatly laid out on a moistened substrate - in rows or holes made. The interval between seeds is from 5 to 8 cm. Seeding depth is 1.5 cm.
- The seeds are sprinkled with soil and slightly compacted by hand.
- Crops are covered with a transparent film or glass.
- Put crops in a warm place. Every day the film is removed for a couple of hours - so that the crops are aired.
- When the shoots appear, the containers are placed closer to the sunlight.
Seedling Care
Kale seedlings are looked after as well as any other cabbage seedlings:
- Regularly watered - as the substrate dries.
- Ventilate the room in which the seedlings are located. But so that young shoots are not exposed to drafts.
- If the seeds are sown in boxes or containers, then the cabbage is dived into separate glasses - when a pair of real leaves appears in the seedlings.
- A week before planting, hardening is carried out, seedlings are taken out onto the street.
How to prepare a place for landing?
The best place to grow feces is flat areas or a small hill. Preparation of the cabbage plot:
- The soil. The culture grows well on neutral, humus-rich soils. The main condition is that the soil should not be acidified. The landing site is prepared in the fall - to remove acidity, make slaked lime or dolomite flour. For digging, humus is applied (3-4 kg per 1 sq. M), and in the spring - before transplanting seedlings, complex mineral fertilizers are applied (100 g per 1 sq. M).
- Lighting. Sunny or slightly shaded areas are suitable.
- Predecessors. The good ones are potatoes, onions, cucumbers. The bad ones are radish and other cruciferous. Auspicious neighbors - dill, celery, spinach, beets, beans, sage, potatoes, garlic, peas.
On acidic and poor soils, kale is bitter, and its leaves are small. It is best to add dolomite flour for deoxidation of the soil - 500 g per 1 sq. Km. m
Transplanting
In open ground seedlings are planted at the age of 45 days. By this time, she should have formed 4 sheets. The height of planted seedlings is from 8 to 10 cm. The optimum temperature for planting is from +5 ° C to +35 ° C.
As soon as the danger of return frosts passes, seedlings can be planted in the ground. Disembarkation Procedure:
- On the beds, prepared in advance, dig holes with an interval of 30-40 cm. Between the rows leave 50-60 cm. Dwarf varieties can be planted thicker.
- The depth of the pit is made so that the root system of seedlings comfortably fits in it. The roots are covered with earth to the first leaves.
- Before planting, the roots of the plants are dipped in a mash made from ash and clay.
Sowing in soil
For planting seeds in open ground, the plot is prepared as well as for seedlings - from autumn digging with humus, in spring - re-digging with mineral fertilizers. Sowing begins when the soil warms up to + 5 ° C. In a temperate climate, such conditions usually develop by April-early May - the exact timing depends on the region.
Features of sowing kale cabbage seeds in open ground:
- Under the seeds make holes in which humus and wood ash are added. The distance between adjacent wells is 45 cm. Seeds are planted in rows, between which 50 cm are left.
- Seeds are buried by 1.5 cm, not more. I put 3-4 seeds in each hole. Crops are watered and sprinkled with soil.
- Sown cabbage is covered with a film - to protect against night cooling and return frosts.
- When the cabbage rises, this usually happens after 5-7 days, the film or spanbond is removed. Shoots are thinned out - in each hole you need to leave only one, the strongest sprout.
The sooner you sow tall varieties of kale, the higher the cabbage will grow.
Soil Care
The optimum temperature for the growth and development of kale is from +10 to + 20 ° C. Take care of feces in the same way as for other types of cabbage:
- Watering. In order to use water as economically as possible, circular grooves are dug around the plants. Water poured into the furrows does not spread and gets directly to the roots. In the dry period, the frequency of watering is increased. The soil should always be slightly moist. In the heat of feces have to be watered daily. The main thing is to prevent stagnation of water.
- Top dressing. Every 3-4 weeks make organic top dressing. It is important not to exceed the dosage - an excess of fertilizers can provoke decay of the leaves.
- Hilling. An agrotechnical technique consists in picking up soil to the roots. They spud cabbage when the plants reach a height of 20 cm.
- Weeding and cultivation. As necessary, weed vegetation is removed - if it appears, and the soil is loosened. To reduce the number of loosening and watering, the soil is mulched.
- Mulching. To prevent weeds from growing and retain moisture, the soil is mulched - best of all with humus or compost. Mulching prevents root rot.
Frequency and composition of fertilizing cabbage kale:
Period | Composition |
Immediately after landing | With an interval of one week, 4 feeding with humic fertilizers is carried out. |
When the cabbage gained green mass | Mullein is introduced - 1 liter is dissolved in a bucket of water. You can also use chicken manure, dissolving it according to the requirements. |
2 months after the first feeding | Repeat the previous top dressing. |
It is useful to water cabbage with herbal infusion. Prepare it like this:
- A barrel is filled with water at 25%.
- Fresh grass and weeds are put in a barrel - 10 kg per 100 liters of water.
- Put dried chicken droppings - 2-3 kg per 100 liters.
- After the appearance of foam, the infusion begins to stir every day - this stimulates fermentation.
Such a manure-grass fertilizer insist 1-3 weeks - the period depends on weather conditions. When the foam ceases to appear on the surface of the infusion, it is diluted in half with water and watered with cabbage.
Pest and Disease Control
The culture can be affected by various cabbage diseases - powdery mildew, keel, gray and gray rot, etc. Among the most common pests are aphids and cabbage flies. Weevils and slugs can also do great harm.To minimize the likelihood of disease, it is not recommended to plant cabbage after adverse predecessors.
Hybrids are quite resistant to most diseases, but they also need prevention:
- Regular loosening of the soil, in order to increase its breathability.
- Powder dusting with ashes and tobacco dust saves from cruciferous fleas. The procedure has to be repeated, since rains wash off the protective layer.
- From many pests, spraying with onion husks or wormwood helps with infusion.
- Planting near the beds with cabbage of feces of flowers that repel pests - mint, marigolds, saffron are suitable.
Kale is not recommended for chemical spraying. It is better to use safe folk methods. But if you can’t cope with the pests, you can use fungicides - Hom, Topsin-M and others, and insecticides - Kemifos, Alit, etc.
Harvesting and storage
With a plant height of 20 cm, you can harvest. The timing depends on the variety, from germination to harvesting can take from 55 to 90 days. Cleaning is done in one of two ways:
- Partial cleaning. Young leaves are cut off. About the same as lettuce - those that break off more, leave smaller leaves. Soon they grow back - cleaning is repeated. Gradually the trunk is exposed, the plant becomes like a small palm tree.
- Full cleaning. Cut the entire plant at once. Leave a stump 4-6 cm high. Over time, young leaves will appear on the stump.
In regions with warm winters, pruned kale cabbage, having wintered safely, gives early greens in spring. Leaves that are not harvested on time acquire bitterness and become stiff. Only leaves come to food, stalks - stalks, you can let livestock feed.
Leaves after cutting are stored in the refrigerator - if they are consumed fresh, or in the freezer - when laying for long-term storage. After freezing, kale cabbage becomes especially tasty - the leaves become fragrant, and the bitterness completely disappears. In the refrigerator, leaves are stored for no more than seven days, and it is desirable that they stand in a container of water.
Where and for how much seed can I buy?
A wide assortment of kale seeds is presented in seed stores. They can also be ordered on the Internet - in specialized online stores.
Select a trusted manufacturer, grade, and order. You will be offered not only Russian, but also imported seeds - they are bought directly from foreign manufacturers. The price of packaging is determined by the number of seeds. 6-10 pieces cost about 50 rubles.
Reviews
Valeria N., amateur gardener, Ryazan region Planted on the site Redbor. But I didn’t grow one and a half meters in height, since it was necessary to sow it in the early spring, and I planted it in July - seedlings. She managed to grow only to 50 cm, and I did not get a crop. This year I sow seedlings in April, and I will still sow in open ground.
Angelina O., amateur gardener, Moscow Region. On the plot, planted red kale cabbage - added it to salads. It tastes nothing special, the leaves are not juicy. They get juiciness after frosts. Young leaves are rough. It is useful, but you can’t eat a lot of it. In the summer she has enough competitors - salad, other types of cabbage, greens. It is interesting that it does not deteriorate after frosts, but after 20 degrees the frost did not survive, it froze.
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To grow kale cabbage, the most ordinary care is enough - this is really undemanding, and most importantly - a frost-resistant vegetable. And if you do not like the taste of this unusual cabbage, then you can always enjoy its external beauty.
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