Types of Kale: 14 of the Best Kales to Grow

Kale is a popular garden plant that is easy to grow, vigorous, and yields a generous crop of tender leaves for the table. However flip through any seed catalog and you’ll quickly see that there are many types of kale you can grow with a range of leaf colors, textures, and shapes. While they have some similarities various types of kale also have a lot of differences. Certain ones are more cold hardy which is ideal if you want to harvest kale into winter, and others have colorful, showy foliage which is a great way to jazz up a front yard vegetable garden. Keep reading to learn more about the different varieties of kale and my 14 favourites ones to grow.

Kale is a cold season green that gardeners grow for its large, nutritious leaves. We enjoy kale raw in salads and smoothies, roasted for kale chips, and cooked into soup and stir-fry recipes. Kale is also a very healthy green and packed with vitamins and minerals like vitamin c, vitamin k, and calcium. Plus, there are many types of kale you can plant offering a wide selection of leaf shapes, textures, and colors.

Kale leaves become sweeter in cold weather which is why it’s often grown as an autumn and winter crop. In my zone 5 garden I harvest kale year-round protecting the plants with mini hoop tunnels or cold frames over the winter months. Grocery store kale can’t beat the delicious taste and texture of garden-grown leaves.

Kale falls into one of two groups: Brassica oleracea or Brassica napus. Brassica oleracea (Acephala group), which is also called wild cabbage, is the original species of popular cabbage family vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi. Over time, various cultivars arose as growers selected for