Kale is king

If there had to be a choice between which brassicas to grow Emma Rawlings would choose kale every time. Here she explains why and gives tips on how to grow it

- Emma Rawlings

You can keep your cabbages, caulis and sprouts – for me, kale is king and for so many reasons. The main one being that kale can provide many pickings of leaves throughout much of the year and it just keeps on giving, especially in winter. You don't need a lot of plants to give you a good harvest, often at a time when fresh veg is at a premium. And they are so nutritious. As well as having all the usual antioxidants that green-leaved veggies have, kale exceeds many others in its vitamin C and A content. Kale is hardy and once it is established it is fairly resistant to pest damage, although whitefly can sometimes be a problem. Kale is also extremely tasty and can be used as baby leaves in salads or grown to maturity and then added to any dish you like.

Kale is a very hardy plant and will tolerate severe weather. It can almost be buried in snow, frozen to the core, beaten by fierce winds, but when the storms have passed it stands proud. It is your best winter friend on the plot. To further convince you that kale is king there has been a lot of breeding work done with kales in recent years and you can now find some really beautiful ones to grow that would not look out of place in a flower border.

HOW TO GROW

Kale is not difficult to grow, which is another point in its favour. Compared with other brassicas I think it is a little easier.

It can be sown all year round, especially if you just want to eat kale as microgreens in the depths of winter by sowing a shallow tray on your kitchen windowsill. In early spring or autumn you could sow some in a cold greenhouse border or in a pot and harvest kale as young plants.