Thinning The Kale
I’ve reserved a very small section of the spring/summer garden for kale. I like all dark, leafy greens quite a bit, but kale is not my favorite. I wanted to get some going from the start mostly to practice for a late summer/fall overwinter attempt. I’ll sow some more in late August or September.
Kale gets pretty big. I oversowed and just about everything germinated. Normally I would probably opt to sow every 3 or 4 inches. Once the plants got to be 3 inches tall, I’d thin them out and give each plant 8 to 12 inches of space. But since I planted so many to start, I’m going to thin in two stages. This first thinning I snipped out enough to give 3 or 4 inches to the most hearty looking seedlings. In another couple of weeks I’ll thin again and leave just a few plants in this space.
Above - the kale seedlings before the first thinning
Below - after the first thinning
Filed under: kale, thinning | Tagged: kale, thinning seedlings, vegetable garden
It’s so exciting to have plants large enough to thin! I hope you enjoy your kale — I love greens, too.
It’s the next burst of growth that I am really looking forward to. I’m hoping for a nice stretch of 60 - 70 degree weather with some sun and things will really begin exploding.
For me, greens are the best! The tops of beets, spinach, lettuce.. all of it! Kale is a little trickier for me, but I want to get good at it so that I can get a late fall crop going.