Everything large quantity previously unknown plants are grown in garden plots. Seeds are bought abroad or obtained through acquaintances. Kale has recently begun to be grown not only for decorative purposes, but also for gastronomic purposes. Domestic seeds are purchased at the store. She has a peculiar taste, for an amateur. However, the usefulness of kale is beyond doubt.
Leaf cabbage and its features
Unlike ordinary white cabbage, which is familiar to us, kale (kale) does not form a head. Its decorative leaves on long petioles are edible, they are eaten by animals and people. This closest relative of wild cabbage was popular during the Middle Ages. In modern Western Europe, kale is eaten with pleasure under the name Gryunkol and Braunkol (Brunkol). In America and England, it is known as "Russian red cabbage".
Kale leaves are rich in calcium, protein and omega-3 component. According to the content of vitamins and minerals, they are superior to white cabbage.
This nutritious and healthy product began to be widely consumed in England during the Second World War.
In Russia, kale has traditionally been grown as an ornamental cabbage. Its large, wavy leaves, ranging in hues from green to purple, look beautiful in the garden, but are tough and aggressively bitter in taste, so they need to be pre-treated before being eaten.
The color of kale leaves varies from green to purple.
Only young tender leaves are eaten. Sauce from vegetable oil and vinegar significantly improves the taste of kale, leaving a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. It is recommended to cook kale with avocado and lemon. Cabbage leaves after freezing acquire a pleasant aroma and become more tender.
Popular varieties
About 50 varieties of kale are known, differing in size, color and shape of leaves, ripening time and taste. Some varieties grow up to two meters tall, undersized varieties do not exceed 40 centimeters. Leaves can be red, green and purple; in shape they are flat, pimply, curly, with terry edges. When the temperature drops, the green-purple leaves become lilac. A feature of curly varieties: after frost, their leaves wrinkle even more.
Curly-leaved varieties
The most widely represented varieties with curly leaves. Them tender greenery can be eaten until frost.
Photo gallery: curly kale
Kale variety Cadet does not grow above 90 cm 
Kale Tintoretto reaches up to 100 cm in height Variety Scarlet not higher than 90 cm Green Russian 60–80 cm in height 
Kale height Red Russian 60-80 cm Kale Blue dwarf below 45 cm Green dwarf below 45 cm 
Kale Reflex F1 reaches 80 cm Kale Redbor F1 up to 80 cm tall
Varieties with flat leaves
Winter-hardy varieties have been developed that can be grown in the Urals and Siberia. Dwarf plants in cold regions are grown through seedlings. Their leaves, seized by frost, become tastier.
Kale variety Siberian is mid-season, tolerates winter well
Kale Siberian is characterized by increased winter hardiness. Kale Premier is a fast growing kale.
Kale variety Premier contains a lot of potassium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, selenium and copper
Varieties with pimply thin leaves
In warm regions, kale with pimply leaves can grow up to two meters, they are called the "calais palm". Dino is the most delicious representative of this variety, Tuscany is the most winter-hardy, Cane kale is the most exotic.
Photo gallery: varieties with pimply leaves
Cale Dino - the most delicious variety with thin leaves Young leaves of Tuscany black kale are used as a salad, larger leaves - like cabbage The original variety of Cane kale with a thick tall stem is very useful
Planting kale
This cabbage prefers neutral, humus-rich soils. It is better to prepare the beds for planting in the fall.
- We choose a place well lit by the sun, light partial shade is acceptable. For 1 m 2 add 3-4 kg of humus / compost.
- Complex mineral fertilizers at the rate of 100 g per 1 m 2 are best applied for digging in the spring.
- If the earth is acidic, add deoxidizers to it - dolomite flour, lime. Tasty tender leaves feces will form only on well-fertilized organic land. On acid poor soil, cabbage will grow bitter, with small leaves.
Dolomite flour containing calcium is the most suitable deoxidizer for cabbage. On heavy loamy lands, 500 g of a deoxidizer per 1 m2 are applied every 6–8 years. Mineral fertilizers applied for two to three years after liming will be poorly absorbed by plants. Ash is an excellent top dressing, at the same time lowering the acidity of the soil.
To reduce the acidity of the soil, dolomite flour is best suited.
Kale grows well at temperatures from +5 °C to +35 °C and tolerates frosts down to -15 °C. In regions with a harsh climate, it is preferable to grow it through seedlings.
The best predecessors in the garden, which is prepared for kale, are potatoes, tomatoes, beets, spinach, and legumes.
Seeds can be sown in the ground when the soil warms up to 5 ° C, usually April - early May, it all depends on the region.
- Seeds are planted to a depth of 1.5 cm in rows spaced 45 cm apart.
- Landings must be covered with a film or spunbond.
- Seedlings appear on the 5-7th day.
The sooner you plant tall kale, the larger it will reach.
Growing features
Calais is an unpretentious culture. It is hardy and pest resistant. Leaf cabbage can be grown without problems in the garden. If she manages to overwinter, in the second year she will bloom and it will be possible to collect her seeds.
Growing and picking seedlings
It is better to sow seeds for seedlings a month and a half before planting in the ground. Despite frost resistance, it is advisable to plan the transfer of kale seedlings to the garden only after the end of the frost.
- We are preparing containers for sowing, wide plastic bowls with sides 5–10 cm high will do.
For planting seeds, we prepare containers with a side height of up to 10 cm
- We fill them with soil with an acidity index of PH 5.5–6.8.
- Before planting, it is desirable to treat the seeds with potassium permanganate and a rooting agent, but, as a rule, they are characterized by high germination.
- Watering the soil in a tray warm water, we make grooves 1.5 cm deep at a distance of 2 cm from each other.
- We lay out the seeds and sprinkle them with soil.
- We put the bowls in a warm place and regularly spray the earth with a spray bottle.
- Seedlings will appear on the 5-6th day. 20°C is the best temperature for seed germination.
Seedlings of kale appear on the 5-6th day
- After the emergence of seedlings, we thin them out, leaving the strongest at a distance of 2 cm.
- We grow them for two weeks, preventing the soil from drying out and waterlogging.
- Then, in the presence of one or two true leaves, we proceed to dive seedlings.
Dive is not a mandatory element in the care of seedlings, but transplanting seedlings into separate pots allows you to get stronger seedlings. You can use special cassettes.
Picking cabbage seedlings allows you to get stronger seedlings
Recently, seedlings have been actively grown in "diapers" and "snails". This method allows you to significantly save the space needed for placing seedlings.
Video: growing seedlings in a snail
How to properly plant seedlings of kale in open ground
We plant seedlings in the garden when the danger of frost has passed.
- In a bed prepared in advance, we dig holes at a distance of 30–40 cm from each other, leave 45–60 cm between rows. Dwarfs can be planted closer, we leave more space for tall varieties.
- The depth of the hole should be sufficient to plant the plant to the first leaves.
- Water the plants thoroughly after planting.
Before planting, dip the roots of the seedlings in a clay-ash mash.
How to care for kale
Caring for kale includes the main stages: watering, fertilizing, treatment for diseases and pests. Compliance with all procedures guarantees a good harvest.
Pollination of plants with a mixture of ash and tobacco helps against sucking pests. It is useful to spray the kale with a solution of onion peel. Ash helps with slugs. A protective net saves from whitefly and cabbage.
Harvesting and storing kale
When the plant grows up to 20 cm, you can start harvesting. Depending on the variety, this period occurs 55–90 days after sowing seeds or planting seedlings. Harvest in two ways:
- cut off young leaves as they grow;
- cut off the entire plant.
For partial harvesting, the upper leaves are removed first. Gradually, the stem will be exposed and we will get a kind of palm tree.
The appearance of curly kale after harvest resembles a palm tree
If the whole plant is cut off, a stump 5 cm high must be left. Young leaves can again be cut off as they grow. In regions with a warm climate, overwintered cut kale will delight with early greenery. If the leaves are not removed in time, they will become hard and bitter. Only leaf blades are used for food. The stems can be used for livestock feed.
Cut leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. fresh and freeze for long-term storage. especially delicious cabbage feces becomes after freezing. Its leaves acquire aroma, bitterness disappears.
Have you already seen such a curly salad called “kale” in stores? If you haven’t seen it, you will soon see it - it will obviously be everywhere! Fans are simply in love with kale (which is also called Russian cabbage) healthy eating around the world - and this fashion has also reached Russia.
In America, fashion has reached such proportions that it is already parodied in comic videos on the Internet!
Many Hollywood stars can no longer imagine their diet without this superfood. For example, Gwyneth Paltrow claims that the secret of her slimness is kale juice. Actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley always starts the morning with a kale smoothie. Bette Midler, Jennifer Aniston and many others - everyone eats it! In Russia, the situation is just the opposite. Of the several dozen visitors to the metropolitan shopping center that we interviewed, not one knew what a keil was - no one even heard the word!
So what is this vegetable? Culinary historians Olga and Pavel Syutkin conducted a whole investigation about the kale, which they called "Round the World of Russian Cabbage".
For the Syutkins, it all started with a photo from a Californian friend - there was a type of kale with purple streaks, and the caption read: "red Russian cabbage." How so? “Russian”, but no one here knows about it? Historians traced the fate of this plant, which was noted in many European countries.
Here's what turned out. Kale actively cultivated throughout Europe. But by the beginning of the 17th century, it was almost completely replaced by more productive and disease-resistant head varieties. In Russia, mainly in the north, due to its frost resistance, kale was very common right up to the end of the 18th century. He again came to Europe thanks to trade with Russia in Petrine and later times! And already from Europe this species came to America, where it spread under the name "Russian cabbage". Today, by the way, this is not the name of the whole kale, but only part of the varieties. In general, there are a lot of them, - says Daniel Lawrence, more than 50 varieties, but the most common are Tuscan and curly.
Daniel is an American living in Russia. A few years ago, he, the owner of a consulting company, came to Moscow for a while to train our businessmen in business English. But he stayed here for a long time. And all because of Kayla! Daniel couldn't find his favorite vegetable in Russia and decided he would grow it himself! At first he did it on the balcony, at a friend's dacha ... And then it turned out that you can earn money on the cable - the idea was born in conversations with businesswoman Olga Korogodina, who came to Daniel to improve her English.
Daniel and Olga rented land in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region, continuously held demonstrations and tastings for restaurateurs, representatives of retail chains, convinced, proved, explained ... And the Russian buyer, it seems, began to understand what kale is.
But is kale really such a miraculous vegetable? Is it better than regular cabbage? Research shows yes. Cale outperforms his relative by more than three times the content of vitamin C - 120 versus 36 milligrams per 100 grams, and almost 4 times wins in magnesium. Also, kale is much richer than cabbage in vitamins A and B6, iron, sodium, and potassium. Scientists all over the world praise him to the skies! As Greta Borge, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Food Research Institute, told us, kale is the leader in calcium content not only among vegetables, but also in comparison with milk. It turns out that kale has 150 mg of calcium per 100 grams, while milk has only 130. Moreover, only 30 percent of calcium is absorbed from milk, and all 50 from kale!
Greta Borge and colleagues also tested polyphenols found in kale and concluded that these antioxidants are effective in fighting colon tumors. An important plus of kale is that it retains many properties even after heat treatment. Worst of all - cooking - with it, the leaves lose about 30 percent of vitamins, they just go into the water. But there are many other ways to cook! Daniel and Olga prepared chips from kale especially for us, vegetable rolls and, of course, the famous smoothie - so popular among Hollywood stars. Very tasty!
Our conclusion: kale is just the case when it is very Tasty food can be called alive, but not dead at all.
- We thank our permanent partner, the Troika shopping center, for their assistance in preparing the story
For the first time I tried kale in Cyprus 3 years ago. I did not expect to feel something unusual in her taste. I was prepared for the fact that it would be a rather tough tasteless curly tops. So it turned out to be, by and large, but I was glad that I would finally try the product that all nutritionists in America are fans of. When you feel like you are eating something super healthy, you get fed up with this positive idea even more than the taste of a particular product. Yes, kale is not tasty, it is not-ka-ka-ya, but it can be “cut” wonderful sauce and make friends with brighter-tasting ingredients. It is this ingenious salad with very juicy ingredients that will be presented in my book.
In total there are several types of kale. The bitterest of them is purple, the toughest is dragon kale, the most tender is light green curly. These are the types of keil that are available in Moscow. In summer, it can be grown independently, as it grows in just two months. One bundle costs about 250 rubles, while this culture is not highly developed, and the price for it remains high, but I believe that in the future interest in this culture will increase, and the price will fall slightly. Why you should add kale to your daily diet.
1.
Kale is rich in digestible calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, C, B6, K, fiber, iron, amino acids, antioxidants, flavonoids, lutein and chlorophyll. Just one cup of raw sliced kale contains even more vitamin C (a water-soluble antioxidant that is essential for collagen synthesis and iron absorption) than an orange, as well as vitamins A and K.
2.
Kale has anti-inflammatory properties, helps fight osteoporosis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, constipation, anemia, and even colon cancer.
3.
Kale is very poor in calories and carbohydrates. Only 33 kcal per 100 grams and 6 grams of carbohydrates.
4.
Kale contains omega-3 fatty acids, which our body cannot produce on its own. Once inside our body, Omega-3 improves performance of cardio-vascular system, strengthens the immune system, improves cognitive abilities and lowers cholesterol.
5.
Contains bile acids, which help to properly absorb fats.
6.
Due to the content of folic acid, kale helps to normalize the hormonal background of a woman. Pregnant women are especially advised to lean on kale, as most are advised to take folic acid tablets.
7.
Vitamin B6 contained in kale helps fight PMS.
8.
High content chlorophyll helps prevent pathological changes in DNA molecules. Some researchers believe that chlorophyll blocks the first step in the transformation of healthy cells into cancer cells.
Hello, dear readers and guests of my blog!
In my new article I want to tell you about an incredibly valuable, but, oddly enough, little-known vegetable in Russia - kale! In our country, it is also known as "kale" or kale.
Adherents of a healthy lifestyle around the world are in love with this super vegetable, and nutritionists sing praises to him and call him a real find for vegetarians!
I will say right away that this article will be the first part of a series of articles about kale, in which I will tell you what kind of vegetable this is and what the actual use of kale is. The second part will be devoted to the results of my experiment on growing kale in my garden, there will also be an article with methods for preparing this vegetable!
Now I will introduce you to this super vegetable!
Kale or kale or kale belongs to the cabbage family (they are also cruciferous). Closest relatives: broccoli, cauliflower, Beijing and Brussels sprouts.
There are many varieties of kale. The color of the leaves varies from gray-green to purple, they can be smooth or, as in most cases, curly.
Useful properties of kale
Kale leads among all products in terms of content vitamin "K", 100 grams contains whole 1020% daily allowance consumption! This vitamin promotes the absorption of calcium into the bones and helps make our bones stronger, and it is also important for blood clotting. Kale has 10 times more vitamin K than our native white cabbage.
The kale contains calcium much more than in other vegetables (150 mg per 100 g of product), in this indicator it surpasses even milk (130 mg per 100 g of product), but another plus is that calcium in the “curly champion” is in easily digestible form and it is absorbed by the body by 50%. For comparison, calcium found in milk is only 30% absorbed.
Kale also contains a record amount vitamin "A". Imagine, 100 grams contains 300% of the daily requirements of this vitamin! And this vitamin is very important for our vision and skin renewal.
Vitamin "C" contains as much as 200% of the daily requirements in 100 grams of these green curls. Cup raw cabbage contains more vitamin C than a whole orange!
What else is contained in 100 gr. Keila as a percentage of the recommended daily intake:
- Manganese: 39%
- Magnesium: 9%
- Copper: 15%
- Potassium: 13%
- Calcium: 13%
- Vitamin A: 300%
- Vitamin K: 1020%
- Vitamin C: 200%
- Vitamin B6: 13%
Here is a comparison table with white cabbage:
| Cale | White cabbage | |
| Vitamin C | 120 mg. | 36 mg. |
| Magnesium | 47 mg. | 12 mg. |
| Vitamin A | 9990 iu. | 98 iu. |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.3 mg. | 0.1 mg. |
| Iron | 1.5 mg. | 0.5 mg. |
| Sodium | 38 mg. | 18 mg. |
| Potassium | 491 mg. | 170 mg. |
(iu is an international unit of measure used for certain vitamins, hormones, and drugs)
- Nutritional value per 100 gr. kayla:
49 kcal.
Fat: 0.9 gr.
Protein: 4.3 gr.
Carbohydrates: 8.8 gr.
In terms of amino acid content, this cabbage is identical to meat, it contains nine out of ten essential amino acids! Also, it is a source of complete, easily digestible protein. It is a real find for vegetarians, which is why kale is also called "meat" for vegetarians.
There are quite a few fats in feces, and most of them are polyunsaturated fatty acid omega 3.
Kale contains a large amount of antioxidant flavonoids.
Antioxidants are substances that prevent the oxidation and destruction of body cells by free radicals.
AT in large numbers kale contains such powerful flavonoids as quercetin and kaempferol. These substances have been studied in test tubes and animal studies. They have been shown to have powerful cardioprotective and down-regulating blood pressure action, anti-inflammatory action, antiviral, antidepressant action and anticancer effect. These same substances, by the way, are found in green tea.
Kale contains substances such as bile acid sequestrants, these are substances capable of binding bile acids in our digestive system thus, they reduce the level of cholesterol in the body.
A study by the Korea Research Foundation found that daily use Kayla juice increased good cholesterol (HDL) by 27% and reduced bad cholesterol (LDL) by 10% for 12 weeks.
Scientists from Norway have found that feces can significantly reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, especially colon cancer. All this thanks to substances such as indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane (beautiful names, is not it? :)). Sulforaphane has been proven to help fight cancer at the molecular level! And indole-3-carbinol is another substance that helps prevent cancer and removes toxins.
Kale is good for eyesight! It has two very important substances that can prevent the development of eye diseases. it lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoid antioxidants, which are found in kale in large quantities.
Studies conducted at different times have shown that people who consume enough lutein and zeaxanthin have a much lower risk of macular degeneration (this is an age-related disease) and cataracts.
In general, kale is definitely one of the healthiest and most useful products on the planet, given to us by nature itself (more about one of useful gifts nature-seaweed, you can)!
Of course, our habitual White cabbage also very healthy vegetable, and we will talk about it in a separate article, but still, kale is a real super-vegetable!
So dear readers, if you want to increase the amount of nutrients that enter your body and improve your health, consider adding kale to your diet!
So, having learned about this vegetable and seeing that there is nowhere to buy it at all (at least in our city), I decided to grow this miracle in my garden! But it turned out that the seeds are not so easy to find! Before I could buy them last year, I finally found them and bought them this year! The beginning of April is just the time to plant it with seedlings.
My son and I (he helped me a lot, scattered the earth over the balcony 🙂) planted one box of seedlings, and for the purity of the experiment I will plant the rest in May straight into open ground! But I will talk about the intricacies of growing and what I got from this experiment in a separate article, here it is:
That's all for today, thank you all for your attention!
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For dessert, I came across an interesting video on how to make kale chips (I’ll definitely try it when it grows up):
Friends, have you already tried kale?
