Kale Spacing: How Far Apart to Plant | Gardener's Path

Kale Spacing: How Far Apart to Plant for the Best Harvest

When you plan your cool season vegetable garden, you’ll certainly want to include kale, the versatile star of many a plant-based meal – from salads and smoothies to stir fries and stews.

But to harvest the most abundant and delicious leafy greens from this member of the Brassicaceae family, it’s important to provide adequate spacing between these leafy veggies.

What exactly are these magic numbers, the number of inches between plants that will encourage your crop to thrive while still allowing you to make efficient use of your garden’s footprint?

Those magic numbers depend on a few different factors.

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Are you planning on harvesting young leaves or large ones from this cruciferous crop? Will you be planting your leafy greens in rows, raised beds, or containers? And what varieties will you be growing?

Before we get started, you’ll want to answer these questions for yourself so that you can use the recommendations in this article for your particular situation – and decide what your own magic numbers are.

Here’s a quick overview of what I’ll cover:

Why You Shouldn’t Crowd Kale

Before we get to deciphering the magic numbers, let’s remind ourselves why we are interested in properly spacing our kale plants in the first place.

Planning for the right distance between these leafy greens can be the difference between a bountiful harvest – and a meager one.

Here’s why:

Leaving enough room around your plants helps to ensure that the leaves get plenty of sun, resulting in healthy, thriving crops. When you can clearly identify each individual plant instead of picking through a

Brassica oleracea Cruciferous Vegetables Kristina HicksHamblin