Has anyone seen any curly kale seeds about or am i too late, my kids love it and i thought i would have a go at growing some. Does it take a lot of room up, and is it easy to grow. Thanks for any help. paula .

i could send you some seed if you want its dwarf green send me a sae.pm me and i will give you my address

That would be great thanks very much can i have your address please .thanks again paula

Youre not too late with the Kale. Its easy to grow but some years the white fly have a go. no real damage just a few white spots on the leaves.

I plant mine about 12" apart and they grow about 15" tall. harvest in winter by picking off the leaves from a number of plants to make a meal. the leaves keep coming and so keep picking. Excellent winter veg. Sow april may 28 / 32 weeks to maturity

There are both tall and dwarf types of kale - it's worth trying both types to see what suits your conditions best. They're pretty easy once you get past the summer pest season (they might need protection from caterpillars and aphids). By the time winter hits you will be delighted at how pest free they are - we harvested through March into April and the leaves just needed a brief rinse under the tap.

The dwarf plants grow no more than a foot high and about 8 inches wide, but are very tightly packed with leaves. They don't need staking but the leaves touch the ground so can be more prone to slugs and snails.

Tall kale are more like two or even three foot tall and a foot or so wide, but carry leaves well off the ground. They might need a stout stick to support them in a windy spot. I think you get a heavier crop from a tall plant overall - if all goes well.

I have had good success with Dwarf Green Curled (a dwarf green type ) and Redbor (a tall purple type) in the past - I don't detect much difference in the taste. I have seen seed of both these at a garden centre.

Originally Posted by Cutecumber

There are both tall and dwarf types of kale - it's worth trying both types to see what suits your conditions best. They're pretty easy once you get past the summer pest season (they might need protection from caterpillars and aphids). By the time winter hits you will be delighted at how pest free they are - we harvested through March into April and the leaves just needed a brief rinse under the tap.

The dwarf plants grow no more than a foot high and about 8 inches wide, but are very tightly packed with leaves. They don't need staking but the leaves touch the ground so can be more prone to slugs and snails.

Tall kale are more like two or even three foot tall and a foot or so wide, but carry leaves well off the ground. They might need a stout stick to support them in a windy spot. I think you get a heavier crop from a tall plant overall - if all goes well.

I have had good success with Dwarf Green Curled (a dwarf green type ) and Redbor (a tall purple type) in the past - I don't detect much difference in the taste. I have seen seed of both these at a garden centre.

I prefer the tall green curled which doesn't seem as popular as the dwarf variety. My tall curled failed last year and all I had was the dwarf version! Still, better than nowt I suppose!

Curly Kale is also one of the plants more likely to be found on market stalls/garden centres as trays of young plants. I always do it this way rather than plant seeds of this plant.

I planted out our Curly Kale from the local market last week, so you are definitely not too late.

LCG

Thanks for all of you who kindly replied to my first post, looking forward to seeing how they get on. thanks again
bluebluepaula

We grow Red Bor as it is extremely tasty - possibly more so to us than 'standard green' curly kale. We also grow it as it is beautiful in the winter as you can see by the attached photos.

We got quite a lot of white fly last year so they got blasted off by a sprayand any white 'smudges' on the leaves we washed off before cooking. I noticed though that the white fly came back with a vengence in early May so they have now all been pulled but we were eating them up til two weeks ago as kale, then little salad leaves then purple sprouting kale. YUM