Kale

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I am going to harvest all the kale and collards. I usually just harvest some through the season and then at the end I cut it all down. I read 2 different ways of cutting the kale where more leaves would still grow. One said cut the whole plant 2 inches above the ground. The other said leave about 3 or 4 top leaves. Will either one of these work to grow more leaves or is there a better way? Or should I take the plants out and plant something in that place?

 

[digitS']

I don't know about cutting the plant near the soil surface - haven't done that.

When I first grew kale, I harvested nothing until fall. Now, I don't know why I did that. What I do is grow the plants close to home so that I can continue to harvest into fall!

Admittedly, the plants never grow very big with constant harvesting but ...

One thing that I suppose we should know is that as leaves age, they carry out less and less photosynthesis. At some point, they use more of the plant's resources than they contribute. Botanists tell us that a deciduous tree "deliberately" cuts off leaves in the fall through some internal process. Evergreens do the same but retain the new ...

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I harvest kale I cut off individual leaves. I leave a bud and a few leaves so small I don't want to harvest them so they have a point to grow from.

Some types of kale can send out suckers. I have not grown all type so I can't say for sure all types do. Some suckers I take off, some I let grow, depending on local circumstances. I don't want them to get too thick. You can take off the plant above a sucker and let the sucker become the new plant.

 

[baymule]

I had collard plants that were 5 years old. They grew tall, fell over, twisted around and reached for the sky again. They also put out suckers. I did as @Ridgerunner and trimmed them off to one sucker, but left the long stalks too. They finally bolted, then I cut them off and pampered the suckers.

 

[Carol Dee]

We harvest from the KALE all season long. As soon as some leaves are big enough we pick them off. Plant continues to grow more leaves as we harvest those we want. We grow a curly variety.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Well, I think I will harvest big leaves off each plant and let some grow. It will be interesting to see when I come back to those plants just how many leaves they did have. I have heard they taste good before 80 degrees, get bitter and then in fall after frost, the bitterness is less. I usually harvest in the fall. Later I will have tons of holes in them and fighting bugs. The red winter kale last 2 years has been just about destroyed from aphids. They go after that type of kale first and then to the other. Baymule, I did have collards come back the next year, but the last couple of years the winter killed them. They turn into a mushy stump.