Darkibor Kale Seed

Why Grow Darkibor Kale?

A Rich, Dark Green Color Darkibor is a hybrid kale variety designed for exceptional performance and flavor in both spring and fall. In our trials, Darkibor grows well into the summer months and is extremely bolt-resistant. This kale variety has a rich, dark green color and superb taste, making it an excellent choice for gardeners of any scale.

Curly Leaves and Vigorous Growth Darkibor Kale has extra curly leaves that grow vigorously, allowing for many harvests throughout the lifetime of each plant. This taller kale variety can easily get 3' tall or taller. Darkibor Kale is not only visually appealing but also packed with flavor and nutrients. Another one of the standout features of Darkibor Kale is its resistance to yellowing, maintaining vibrant color and quality throughout its growth. This attribute ensures that your crop remains visually appealing and nutrient-rich, providing a superior product for both fresh use and culinary applications.

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.