Harvesting kale in the dead of winter

12 years ago

Quick question about harvesting kale and how much/little to take for the health of one's plants...

These are Russian kale, grown in an organically-managed hoophouse. I've always had angst about how much of the leaves that I can take off a plant in the depths of winter. Today I have a hankerin' to make some potato-kale soup for dinner.

How much and what size leaves can I safely harvest from these plants?

Last night our low was 0F, the hoophouse dropped to 8F. Tonight the low is forecast between -4F and -8F. After that, the weather should get progressively better. I think this will be the worst of it for the remainder of this winter.

There are a variety of size plants in there since I allowed one large plant from last year to go to seed, resulting in seedlings that germinated at different times.

Small & young: {{gwi:135568}}

Medium: {{gwi:135576}}

Planted early last spring, competed with tomato plants all summer and so big that it's flopped over and sprouting leaves from the stem: {{gwi:135580}}

What range of leaves does one harvest, and how will it affect the plant in the cold weather? Are the big, reddened leaves too old to harvest?

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Comments (6)

bi11me
12 years ago
The red leaves are still edible and nutritious, if a little tougher due to size - not an issue in soup. I generally leave a few larger leaves - with good green color, to help prolong the life cycle, and harvest from the bottom up. 6 to 10 leaves will be all the plant needs, but winter regrowth will still be slow. When I do this kind of harvest, I take 2 or 3 leaves from each plant, but I do a much denser planting, and weekly harvests. My plants are about 14" tall now, with at least 10" of stem before any leaf.
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elisa_z5
12 years ago
I want your kale! It's gorgeous. I havested the rest of mine (I got greedy and took all the big leaves) two days ago, and it was so incredibly delicious I wished I had more.

The only thing I have to add is that with your really cold temps, I've found two varieties that are quite a bit hardier than Red Russian -- Beedy's Camden Kale and Winterbor Kale, both from Fedco and both really tasty. Your Red Russian is obviously doing great in your hoop house, but just in case you wanted to branch out :)
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bi11me
12 years ago
You will want to plant them closer next year, and I second the choice for Winterbor. Love that watering can! I have two of them and walk down the row with one in each hand (easier on my old back).
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ralleia
Original Author
12 years ago
I'll order the Camden and Winterbor kale seeds to grow this fall for overwintering. Thank you for the suggestions (and the opportunity to add to my seed hoard! :)

Yes, I'll certainly plant them closer this year. Last year I allowed the tomatoes to take over large portions of the hoophouse (plus I didn't figure out how to get the rollerhooks in and up until July), plus I was still doing Mel's square-foot method and the kale was planted one per square foot. This year we're trying to start mechanical seeding in rows to make the seeding more precise.

What spacing do you use in your kale plants, and do you have any issues with them flopping over when they get bigger?

I love that watering can, too--ordered it last year when I saw all the high reviews on it. It even waters newly-seeded areas gently enough that seeds are rarely dislodged.
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bi11me
12 years ago
I space summer kale at 8 inches. I use kale in a braising/salad mix that is seeded at 3", and only harvested once. For the summer kale, if cut from the bottom, it will eventually have a stem that is almost 3 feet tall, easy to find even in pretty deep snow (I think snow is good for it). I grow for chefs, so I cut me curly leaf kale at about 5" long, but the Lacinato I cut when the leaves are about 8". Anything bigger I eat myself. Lacinato will last through November outside for me without trouble, and it is my best selling kale. I have Winterbor and Red Russian still growing outside, but that is unusual. The last two nights here might put an end to that; I may pick the rest today.
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ralleia
Original Author
12 years ago
These were more of an issue last winter, but they are still around now. Aphids are overwintering on the kale leaves, particularly when the kale leaves are near to or touching the ground.

What is the best way to deal with them? Last year I tried spraying them off with water, but they just come back.

I stay mostly organic, but I'm not extreme about it.
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Harvesting kale in the dead of winter

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Harvesting kale in the dead of winter

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