Planting kale to enjoy all fall and winter. This can seem like a dream, especially in zones 5 or lower where the winters are cold and long. No need to worry though, Farmer Nathan has some great tips to grow delicious kale throughout the winter! Don’t forget to check out our free planting template for seeds and transplants linked below!
Varieties to grow
I called West Michigan home growing up as a lad where the winters were cold and snowy. Many years, the skies were covered as if with a grey blanket for months on end. I remember years of which the ground disappeared on Halloween with snowfall not to be seen again until mid April. Living in zone 5B brought some challenges when it comes to gardening. Not being able to see the ground being just one of the small details to work around 😉 A great staple for the fall garden despite the cold is kale. One of the keys to success was choosing a variety suitable for your growing environment.
If you get really cold winters with heavy snow, curly kale or lacinato kale is a perfect choice. I remember a couple of really snowy years going out to the garden and digging the kale out of the snow for dinner! Cold weather brings the sugar from the root of kale up to the leaves, making them especially sweet after a good chilling.
Once you get to zone 6b or warmer, the diversity of kale varieties to choose from greatly increases. Whether you want Russian red kale, Siberian kale, red scarlet, lacinato, curly, or any other variety, these should grow quite nicely.
Planting at the right time
A game changer for getting a good kale crop through the harvest is planting it early enough. September already begins to usher in shortening days and cooling nights, which are perfect conditions for getting your kale established. I love to use the Farmers Almanac to determine the average first frost date and strive to get kale planted 10-12 weeks before the first frost.
Getting the kale planted this early helps to establish good strong roots and enough leaves. This can help the kale to sustain the plant through the fall and into the winter. If you are tight on time, you can either grow or purchase kale transplants to get a jump start on the fall garden. If you are starting your own kale transplants and are tired of having flats break on you, you gotta try the Bootstrap Farmer heavy duty trays. They last so much longer and won’t leak on you! I grow our transplants inside under grow lights where we have wood floors and will do anything to stop leaks. These trays are certainly worth their price.
Planting kale to enjoy all fall and winter long
Kale likes to have some room to grow. I have planted it too close a few times too many and it starts out great. But as it matures the lack of airflow attracts pests and disease. The best spacing is 8 inches by 8 inches (get our free printable spacing ruler below!) Once you have your garden space picked out, remove weeds or old plant material. I like to add a bit of compost and water if the site is dry. Plant your seeds or transplants 8 inches apart and tamp the soil down lightly.
Harvest
Kale can yield many harvests all throughout the fall and winter. One key to getting consistent regrowth is not to over harvest. When you see the luscious leaves crisp on the plant, the desire is to pick all the leaves for a beautiful salad. I like to harvest less than 50% of the leaves at a time. This gives the plants plenty of leaves to continue to produce photosynthesis for more growth. This is all the more vital as winter approaches and settles in as the sun continues to lessen in intensity.
Pest control
When planting kale to enjoy all fall and winter long, pests can be quite a trick to combat. I am not a fan of using pesticides and haven’t used a pesticide in years! By spacing the plants further apart, the natural air flow can help keep pest pressure lower. I have also like to keep the garden well weeded. This can help prevent bugs from one variety of plant from spreading to your tender kale.
The bugs I find most frequently in the fall and winter are aphids. These green, yellow, or black insects like to congregate on the bottom sides of the leaves. I like to look over my plants once per week to ensure that they are pest-free. If, however, they have arrived, they are easy to eradicate by simply rubbing your fingers over the leaf surface.
Frost protection
As the cool crisp nights of fall approach, covering the kale can help keep it producing strong much later in the season. It can be as simple as cutting the bottom out of a milk jug and covering the individual plants. Or as elaborate as building a cold frame or greenhouse. I like to cover any night that is below 36 degrees. This helps to buffer the temperature and protect the plants from a potential frost. (More on frost protection here!)
Mulching the ground can help keep production going longer by insulating the soil. As soil cools down, the microorganisms also slow down in their ability to transfer nutrients for the plants. I love shredded leaves for this purpose. They are free to make, easy to spread, and nourish the soil for the spring to come. Cardboard also works well as long as it does not have any color ink on it and is not wax covered. I have tried wood chips in the past, but they take awhile to break down and can cause nitrogen and carbon balance issues. Landscape fabric also works well and can help reduce weed growth as well!
Maintenance
Fertilizing in winter can be tricky. This is especially the case if you get hard freezes or snow covers the kale completely. My go-to fall and winter fertilizer is fish emulsion. It is quick acting. Easy to use, and effective as it enables the kale leaves to absorb nutrients and photosynthesis more efficiently. Some of our kale has produced as much as 50% better in half the time. Simply use the fish emulsion once every 2 weeks!
If you are interested in growing other crops this fall, check out our other blog post on what to grow in a fall vegetable garden. I hope these tips help your kale grow strong and feed you well this fall and winter!