Grow Diary: Kale

Verde di Milano
PREMIER SEEDS DIRECT - Kale - Borecole -VATES Blue Curled - 1600 Seeds
  • Plant in spring as soon as the ground can be worked or in autumn for an over-winter crop. Sow 1/4 to 1/2" deep, 1" apart in rows 18-30" apart. Thin seedlings to 8-12" apart which can be transplanted or eaten.
  • Kale germinates best in cool or warm soil temperatures with even moisture.
  • Choose an area with full sun and a soil pH of 6.0-7.0. Enrich the soil with compost or well-rotted manure.
  • Harvest by clipping individual leaves. Kale is very hardy and quality actually improves after a frost.
  • Professional DEFRA licenced Quality Seed Supply only - Minimal packaging - Ziplock labelled bags - Instructions not attached - See details provided above for cultivation advice.
  • Test Plants: Kale
    Verde di Milano
  • Growth Medium: Aqua Vega - 870ppm - pH 6.5
  • Location: Conservatory
  • Hydroponics Setup: 10L Kratky hydroponics system

Here Kale was grown in the 10L bucket Kratky Hydroponics system. The seedlings were started in Root Riot Organic Starter Cubes in heated germinators (Garland Fab4 Electric Propagator) before being placed in the 10L bucket after 5 days. The plants grew very aggressively and very healthy looking apart from being less bushy than expected - this possibly may have been due to sub-optimal lighting in the conservatory.  

In total, the plants grew for over 2 months before growth clearly slowed as the nutrient concentration became too low to sustain the plants (the remaining media was measured to be at 58ppm on day 69!). Note that in the later weeks of the grow, leaves were continually picked off the plant for tasting, so what you are seeing in the pictures below is a significant under-estimation of the actual total growth of the plants.

Overall, the Kale plants grew very well in the 10L bucket Kratky hydroponics system, however, we suspect that had the bucket volume been larger, the plants could have continued to yield edible produce for much longer.

Day 5

Day 12

Day 22

Day 31

Day 42

Day 56