How to Grow Portuguese Kale
Portuguese kale (Brassica oleracea var. "costata"), also known as Beira Tronchuda cabbage, is one of the most cold-tolerant kale varieties. It is more reminiscent of collard greens than regular kale and has a sweet, mild flavor. In Portugal, cooks remove the mid-rib from the huge leaves, chop the leaves and add them to Portuguese kale soup. Sow Portuguese kale seeds directly into the garden around the time of your last frost -- plants will be ready to harvest in 60 days. This kale can also be planted in late summer for a fall harvest. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Gardening fork or pitchfork
- Compost
- Measuring cup
- 10-10-10 fertilizer
- Bone meal
- Rake
- Blood meal
Instructions
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Aerate the soil with a gardening fork or pitchfork. Dig into it at least 10 inches and turn the soil to loosen it. Add a 3-inch layer of compost, 1/4 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer and 10 ounces of bone meal per 100 square feet of garden soil. Combine the amendments into the top 6 inches of soil and smooth the bed with a rake.
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Plant the Portuguese kale seeds in groups of three, 1/2 inch deep and, because the plants get quite large, 2 feet apart.
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Water the bed carefully so that you don't wash away the seeds. Keep the soil moist to a depth of 6 inches at all times during the growing season. Look for seeds to germinate within 10 days.
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Thin the Portuguese kale plants one week after they sprout. Remove all but the strongest of the three at each planting location.
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Fertilize the Portuguese kale with two tablespoons of blood meal per plant, applied to the soil around the stem, in late spring.
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References
- Johnny's Selected Seeds: Crop Walk Video: Portuguese Kale Trials, Tomato Seed Processing
- Territorial Seed Company: Winter Cold Crops Growing Guide
- Leaf For Life; Brassica Oleracea Acephala Group; 2002
- University of Maryland Extension; Leafy Greens: Kale, Collard, Mustard and Pac Choi; Jon Traunfeld, et al.; March 2010
