Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale

 

The plants can grow up to three feet tall and when mature look a bit like miniature palm trees with a rosette of narrow leaves held atop straight stems. This unique kale is tolerant of both hot and cold weather, but is less winter hardy than varieties like Red Russian. You can direct seed or transplant as early as two to three weeks before the last spring frost and as late as six to eight weeks before the first fall frost. Ideal soil temperatures for seeding and transplanting are 55 F to 77 F. Kale grows best when planted in a site that offers eight to ten hours of sunshine each day. That said, you can grow kale in a partially shaded site with only four to six hours of light, but the plants will grow slower and yield fewer leaves. Kale likes well-draining, fertile soil so amend the bed with a balanced organic granular fertilizer before planting. Lacinato kale can be direct seeded in the spring garden or started indoors and transplanted outside once the seedlings are a few inches tall.  Plant one to two seeds per cell sowing them just a quarter of an inch deep. Place the containers in a sunny window or beneath a grow light giving them 14 to 16 hours of light each day. Keep the soil lightly moist, but not wet as the seeds germinate and begin to grow. Once the seedlings are a couple of inches tall, feed them with a diluted liquid organic fertilizer at half the recommended rate. Harden off the young plants before moving them to the garden. Or, you can direct sow the seeds, spacing them about four inches apart and just a quarter inch deep. Once the seedlings are a couple of inches tall, thin them 12 to 18 inches apart (be sure to eat the thinnings). Lacinato kale is an easy to grow, low-maintenance vegetable. If you didn’t incorporate any fertilizer at planting time, give the plants a dose of a liquid organic food every few weeks during the growing season. Use a fish emulsion or kelp based fertilizer. 

You can enjoy the leaves as baby greens and start picking them when the leaves are two to three inches in length. You can pull the entire young plant or just pinch off a leaf or two from each plant and leave them to continue growing.

Mature Kale grows about a foot long and the large leaves are ready to clip about two months from planting. Again, aim to pick the outer, or lowermost leaves of the plant so the center can keep growing.