How to Grow Kale: Planting, Pest Prevention, and Harvesting Tips

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Kale is one of my favorite vegetables to grow. These versatile greens can be steamed or stir fried, chopped into soups, or baked into chips. And the young leaves are delicious in salads. It’s a perfect double-duty plant, because it adds interesting foliage in various shades of green to a garden or an ornamental container, with the added bonus of being able to harvest some of the leaves. Plus it’s super-healthy. Kale is a good source of fiber and high in vitamin C. Learning how to grow kale is pretty easy. Unfortunately its nemesis, the cabbage worm, can crush—or rather eat—all your kale-growing dreams very quickly. Here are some tips on raising healthy kale plants.

There are many different varieties of this member of the Brassica family (Brassica oleracea, to be exact), which also includes broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. Niki has detailed 14 types of kale to help you figure out a favorite.

My favorite varieties of kale include Vates, a curly variety. Curly kale has these wonderful, ruffled leaves. When I use it, I cut around the tough stems and toss them in the compost. If I’m stir frying the leaves, I find sometimes the curls become a bit crispy, which adds a nice crunch to a dish. If I eat the leaves raw, I pick them when they’re small small so they’re sweeter.

Lacinato kale, also referred to as Tuscan or Dinosaur, has those longer, narrow crinkly-looking leaves. It’s delicious steamed and stir fried. It’s also really striking in a garden.

When shopping for kale seeds, you can find a range of hues and leaf shapes among the different varieties, from