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When to plant
kale in the UK
Gets sweeter after a frost. One of the hardiest crops — can harvest all winter.
Work out your own dates
Starts from the recommended sow date for your area. Sowed on a different day, or planted out late? Adjust below and the harvest moves with it.
Using the UK-average last frost · 15 April · add your postcode to tune it
Growing journey
10 weeks from planting out to harvest · Start indoors 5 weeks before planting out
Get kale seeds
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What kale need
Sun or partial shade. Firm, fertile soil. Net against pigeons.
Spacing
45cm between plants
These are larger plants — give them plenty of space for air circulation.
Varieties worth growing
Cavolo Nero
commonDark, crinkled, impossibly elegant Tuscan kale that makes your allotment look like a Tuscan hillside (if you squint). Sweetens after frost and works in everything from soups to crisps.
Ribollita
Tear the dark leaves, simmer with cannellini beans, tomatoes, stale bread, and parmesan rind until thick and comforting. Drizzle with your best olive oil. Florentine peasant cooking at its finest.
Kale crisps
Strip from the stems, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt, bake at 150C until crisp and just starting to brown at the edges. Addictive. Gone in minutes.
Dwarf Green Curled
commonCompact, curly, and practically indestructible. Grows happily in containers, shrugs off frost, and keeps producing side shoots all winter. The kale for people who want kale without the fuss.
Colcannon
Shred the curly leaves, cook in a little salted water, drain well, and fold into buttery mashed potato with spring onions. The Irish winter warmer that makes kale disappear deliciously.
Red Russian
uncommonFlat, frilly, grey-green leaves with purple veins and stems that look like something from a botanical illustration. More tender than curly kale, brilliant raw in salads, and gets sweeter with each frost.
Kale and apple slaw
Shred the tender leaves finely, toss with grated apple, toasted hazelnuts, and a dressing of cider vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Massage the kale for a minute — it sounds silly but it works.
Nero di Toscana
uncommonThe same as Cavolo Nero's close cousin — tall, dark, and handsome with strap-like leaves that look architectural in the winter garden. Slightly different seed stock to standard Cavolo Nero, often with a more pronounced savoy texture.
Kale and sausage pasta
Strip the dark leaves, fry with broken-up Italian sausage, garlic, and chilli. Toss with orecchiette and a splash of pasta water. Hearty, quick, and the dark leaves look beautiful against the golden sausage.
Good companions
When to sow kale
Based on UK average frost date. Enter your postcode for exact dates, or find your city.
Where to buy kale seeds
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What you'll need for kale
The stuff beginners wish they'd bought sooner.
Without this, cabbage white caterpillars will strip your plants to skeletons. Cover from planting day — not after you spot damage.
Hold netting above the leaves. Draped directly on plants, butterflies lay eggs through the mesh where it touches.
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Get your exact dates
Enter your postcode for personalised planting dates for kale.