Black Magic Kale Seed

Why Grow Black Magic Kale?

The Superior Lacinato Kale Variety Black Magic Kale is a superior selection of Toscano kale, renowned for its impressive consistency and exceptional quality, making it the ideal choice for full-size production. This standout variety features long, narrow leaves that form tall, straight bunches, enhancing its visual appeal and making it easy to harvest. 

Vibrant Color and Crisp Texture The dark blue-green leaves of Black Magic Kale are adorned with a beautiful savoy texture, providing both a rich, vibrant appearance and a delightful, crisp bite. As a Lacinato or "dinosaur" type kale, Black Magic brings a unique and sought-after look to your harvest, distinguished by its distinctive leaf pattern and texture.

Kale Growing Tips

• When to Plant Kale

Kale is considered a "cool season" vegetable that grows best in the fall and early spring months. Although this variety will often make it well into the summer months without bolting, the best performance and production will come during the cooler months.

Kale can be directly sewn or transplanted in the backyard garden, although we prefer transplanting this variety. Plant seeds indoors or in a greenhouse 4-6 weeks before your intended in-ground planting date.

Kale transplants should be planted outdoors once they have a well-established root ball in their seed starting containers. Aim to put your transplants in the ground in the late summer months for a fall planting or in the late winter months for a spring planting.

Kale is very cold-tolerant and will grow well throughout the winter in the southern states. For gardeners in the middle or northern states, frost protection would be needed to grow them through the winter. Or you can opt for a late winter planting as temperatures are warming going into spring.

When transplanting kale plants, space them approximately 1' apart along rows or in your containers or raised beds. If directly sewing them into your garden, you can plant seeds a few inches apart and thin later. Some growers prefer to plant them thick and harvest as baby greens, while other growers prefer a full sized plant that will require 1' of space.

• How to Fertilize Kale Plants

It's always a good idea to apply some pre-plant fertilizer to the soil prior to planting kale transplants. We like to sprinkle Coop Gro organic fertilizer on our raised beds or along our rows prior to planting. This ensures the plants have the right nutrients to put down roots in their new soil.

Because ka,e plants are usually in your garden for several months (if not 7-8), they'll need repeated applications of fertilizer for solid production. We like to feed ours every 3-4 weeks with a liquid solution of AgroThrive General Purpose or by sprinkling Coop Gro around the base of the plants and lightly mixing it into the soil.

• When to Harvest Kale Greens

Kale greens can be harvested whenever you'd like! Some gardeners like to harvest "baby kale greens" as soon as the leaves are as big as their hands, while others prefer to wait until the leaves get larger.

When harvesting, be sure to leave 3-4 leaves on the top of the plant so it can continue to grow. Harvest the lower leaves as the plant grows and leave the top leaves for continual production throughout the cool season.