Kale- Lacinato (Heirloom)

Kale- Lacinato (Heirloom)

Brassica oleracea

Lacinato kale, with it's dark blueish-green leaves, is one more commonly found in the grocery store, but growing this extremely hearty crop is easy and way more gratifying! Like other kales, it is a cool season biennial crop, typically grown as an annual. It's long history in Italian cuisine is why some call it Italian kale or Tuscan kale. The dark and bumpy appearance is why some call it dinosaur kale. No matter what you call it, it's delicious sweet nutty flavor quickly sautéed in olive oil with some garlic and a little balsamic vinegar makes it one of the easiest and most delicious side dishes.  Not to mention it's a nutritional powerhouse, packed with tons of vitamins A. C, K, B6, manganese, copper, calcium, and magnesium!

One of my favorite ways to plant kale, is to draw a line in the soil, at proper planting depth (1/2"), and sprinkle the seeds in about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, the entire row. As the plants grow, and begin to crowd each other, I begin to thin by harvesting out entire plants, about every other one. Baby kale plants, taste amazing. I will continue to take out every other plant or two, about every week, until I reach proper plant spacing. At that time, I begin to harvest the biggest leaves off the remaining plants, until the season is over.