Dwarf Green Curled Kale Vegetables Seeds - West Coast Seeds

PRODUCT DETAILS

Dwarf Green Curled kale seeds is an heirloom Scottish kale dating back to 1865, originally known as Dwarf Curlies. Plants are very compact, growing to only 30-45cm (12-18"") tall, but with delicate, succulent, tightly curled leaves. This wonderful kale is easy to grow, and quite useful for containers given its compact size. Try some on the balcony, or direct in your organic kale patch. This cold hardy kale is a good pick for summer planting for fall and winter harvest, but it will also produce well in summer from early spring plantings. Maturity is from direct sowing.

• Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)
• Heirloom
• Very tightly curled
• Good for containers
• Open pollinated
• Matures in 60 days

All About Dwarf Green Curled

Latin

Brassica oleracea var. acephala
Family: Brassicaceae

Difficulty

Easy

Season & Zone

Season: Cool season
Exposure: Full sun
Zone: Winter hardy to Zone 6.

Timing

Direct sow in early spring to mid-summer for summer to winter harvests. Or start indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost, and transplant out as soon as the soil warms up. Optimal soil temperature: 10-30°C (50-85°F). Seeds should germinate in 7-10 days.

Starting

Sow 3-4 seeds 5mm (¼”) deep in each spot you where a plant is to grow. Thin to the strongest plant. Space 45-60cm (18-24″) apart in rows 75-90cm (30-36″) apart.

Growing

Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. Add lime to the bed 3 weeks prior to sowing. Kale likes well-drained, fertile soil high in organic matter. This plant prefers plentiful, consistent moisture. Drought is tolerable, but quality and flavor of leaves can suffer. Mix ¼ cup of complete organic fertilizer into the soil beneath each transplant, or use 1 cup beneath every 3m (10′) of seed furrow.

Harvest

Kale and collards can both be grown as a cut and come again crop for salad mixes by direct-seeding and cutting baby leaves. They will re-grow if you pick leaves from the bottom up, as you need them. Continue harvesting lower leaves as they mature—plants will keep producing all season. Kale can overwinter in many areas. In fact, the leaves get sweeter after frost, though growth will slow. In spring, the surviving plants start to flower, so eat the delicious flowering steps and buds.

Diseases & Pests

Protect from cabbage moths and other insect pests with floating row cover. Prevent disease with a strict 4-year crop rotation, avoiding planting Brassicas in the same spot more than once every four years.

Companion Planting

All Brassicas benefit from chamomile, dill, mint, rosemary, and sage. Avoid planting near eggplants, peppers, potatoes, or tomatoes, as the acidic soil these plants thrive in can cause problems for Brassicas.