Healthy Harvest: Kale

By Susan “Yogi Suzi” Grimes

A few decades ago a famous commercial popularized this slogan:  “Where’s the Beef?” Last year, a group of kale munching health promoting beings touted kale to be “The New Beef”.

If you’ve ever chomped through a kale salad, it’s likely the hearty satisfying texture and rich flavors made you take note that you were consuming some serious nutrition.

Healthy Eating

Kale, again, sometimes known as the “new beef,” is a nutritional powerhouse.   Besides being vitamin rich, kale contains large amounts of calcium, iron, protein, magnesium, silica, lutein, zeaxanthin, and indole-3-carbinol.

Yeah, depending on the time of year, kale can sometimes be pricey — $2.99 or more per bunch – and when one is budgeting sometimes kale is not placed in the cart.

Great news is that kale is one of the easiest crops to grow! A five gallon bucket, a raised bed, a canvas grow bag, or a plot in the yard are all perfect venues for displaying this thriving lovely green leafy.

Get Growing

The best time to plant kale is now – right in the middle of summer. Get the plants off to a dynamic start before the first frost and they will be vigorous enough to keep growing for months.

For those living in a milder climate, by taking the time now to amend a garden plot or create drainage holes in some 5 gallon buckets or planters, kale will produce luscious green leaves for you all winter.

As far as how to plant kale seeds (a packet of seeds will provide you with a mountain of kale if you have the space), you can directly sow your seeds into the earth outdoors about ¼” to ½” deep and 2” apart.

After the seedlings emerge thin the plants so the strongest remaining will be about 12” apart.

Kale leaves can get quite large and the plants fairly big so keep kale well watered until summer is officially over.

A Fall Favorite

Your kale will thrive in the cooler autumn months especially if planted in rich fertile soil that allows for good drainage.

All varieties of kale are nutritional powerhouses. To read a bit more about a few heirloom varieties, check out the info connected to these kale seed packets.

And, if you are fortunate enough to have space for several kale plants, be sure to explore the art of making your own kale chips – a guilt free superfood snack or salad topping that even skeptical vegetable eaters often find to be irresistibly delicious.

Susan “Yogi Suzi” Grimes loves Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda and manages the  pharmacy at www.traditonalbotanicalmedicine.com. Suzi’s love for sustainability has her assisting the executives of an Heirloom Seed Company, www.sustainableseedco.com. She has her yoga certification with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level, and is the co-creator of WildBar, a raw chocolate superfood bar, www.wildbar.info.

*Editor’s Note: Though biologically squash is a fruit (as it contains seeds), it most often used and referred to as a vegetable.