For the Table

• 1). Remove any old plants from the area of the garden where you intend to plant kale. Because it's a cool-season crop, it's ideal to plant after vegetables such as beans or squash have exhausted themselves for the season. Work 2 to 3 inches compost into the soil with a shovel to improve the garden bed.
  
  
• 2). Sow seeds four to five weeks before the usual last frost date for your area. This allows time for the seeds to germinate while the soil is still warm. Choose varieties of kale bred for taste, such as 'Blue Curled Scotch' or 'Dwarf Siberian.' Sow seeds 1/4- to 3/4-inch deep and cover lightly with soil. You can sow seeds directly into the garden, spacing them 12 to 18 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart, or broadcast them into seedling trays to be transplanted when plants have four to six leaves each.
  
  
• 3). Water the seeds to wet the soil thoroughly. Once seeds have sprouted, provide 1 to 2 inches water each week.
  
  
• 4). Mulch around the plants with plastic or organic mulch. This will help conserve water and discourage weeds
  
  
• 5). Fertilize the plants when they are 8 or 9 weeks old. Spread 1 cup of high nitrogen fertilizer for each 10 feet of garden row. Place the fertilizer 6 inches alongside the plants and water to disperse the fertilizer into the soil.
  
  
• 6). Harvest kale as soon as the leaves are large enough to eat. You can pull off outer leaves to eat and allow the plant to continue growing. Kale withstands temperatures below 25 degrees. During the coldest months of winter kale plants will lie dormant under the snow to continue growing in the spring.
  
  

Ornamental

• 1). Fill a seedling tray with high-quality potting soil made for seedlings. Water the soil to wet it thoroughly.
  
  
• 2). Plant kale seeds ½- to 3/4-inch deep, one to two seeds to each cell of the planting tray. Tamp the soil lightly over the seeds and sprinkle with water. Start the seeds four to five weeks before the usual last frost date in your area. Some cultivars of kale bred for ornamental foliage include 'Color Up,' 'Osaka' and 'Peacock.'
  
  
• 3). Set the flats in a sheltered area outdoors. This allows the kale to adapt quickly to outdoor conditions and provides good light and air circulation for the seedlings.
  
  
• 4). Thin the seedlings, leaving one plant per cell. Thin the plants as they emerge from the soil.
  
  
• 5). Transplant the seedlings from the seedling tray into small pots when they develop their first leaves. Continue to water regularly until the plants have four or five sets of leaves. Then transplant into the garden. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart in the garden or flower beds.
  
  
• 6). Fertilize your ornamental kale four weeks after transplanting. Apply 1 cup of high nitrogen, granular fertilizer for each 10 feet of garden row. Spread the fertilizer approximately 6 inches from the plants and work into the soil. Water the fertilizer to dissolve it into the soil.