Why Grow Portuguese Kale?
Sweet and Tender Portuguese Kale is a unique heirloom variety also known as Couve Tronchuda. Unlike traditional curly or Russian-type kales, this variety produces huge, broad leaves that look and grow more like collard greens. The plants can be harvested leaf by leaf, allowing you to crop the larger outer leaves while the center continues producing fresh growth. Portuguese Kale is also very cold-tolerant, making it an excellent choice for productive cool-season gardens.
More Like Cabbage Than Traditional Kale Portuguese Kale has exceptionally tender leaves with a mild, sweet flavor that's often compared to cabbage rather than the stronger flavor of typical kale. The tender foliage cooks quickly and is delicious sautéed, simmered in soups, or prepared like collards and other cooked greens. With its massive leaves, cut-and-come-again harvests, excellent cold tolerance, and outstanding eating quality, Portuguese Kale is a flavorful heirloom that's a little different from anything else in the garden.
Portuguese 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 a balanced, pre-plant 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 kale 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 around the base of the plants.
• 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.
