21 Kale Varieties for Your Garden: A Comprehensive Guide
Understanding Kale Varieties
Kale, a member of the cabbage family, boasts numerous nutritional benefits and is a popular choice for home gardeners. With its diverse range of varieties, choosing the right kale for your garden can be overwhelming. This guide explores 21 distinct kale varieties, categorized based on their species and unique characteristics.
Brassica oleracea (Acephala Group)
This group includes “true” kales, divided into two categories:
- Scotch kale: Recognized for its deeply curled and wrinkled leaves.
- Lacinato kale: Features dark green, savoyed, blade-shaped leaves.
Brassica napus (Pabularia Group)
This hybrid species originated from the cross-breeding of field mustard and Brassica oleracea. Siberian or Russian kale varieties belong to this group and are characterized by:
- Flat leaves
- Lobed or scalloped edges
Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Kale Varieties
- Open-pollinated varieties: Naturally reproduce through pollination, allowing gardeners to save seeds for future plantings.
- Hybrid varieties: Result from controlled cross-breeding, often exhibiting enhanced traits such as disease resistance or improved yield.
Choosing the Right Kale Variety
Consider these factors when selecting a kale variety for your garden:
- Climate: Some varieties are more cold-tolerant than others.
- Size: Kale plants vary in height and leaf size.
- Leaf shape and color: Kale varieties come in a range of leaf shapes and colors, from curly to flat and green to purple.
- Harvest time: Different varieties have varying maturity times.
21 Kale Varieties for Your Garden
1. Early Hanover (Brassica napus ‘Premier’): Open-pollinated variety with extra-large, smooth leaves suitable for containers or raised beds.
2. Ragged Jack (Brassica napus ‘Red Russian’): Heirloom variety known for its tender, sweet leaves and striking purple-red stems that intensify in cold weather.
3. Red Ursa (Brassica napus ‘Red Ursa’): Short, open-pollinated variety that combines the rich color of Red Russian kale with the frilly leaves of Siberian kale.
4. True Siberian (Brassica napus ‘Siberian Kale’): Cold-hardy variety with moderately frilly leaves that can be harvested throughout winter in mild climates.
5. White Russian (Brassica napus ‘White Russian’): Siberian kale variety with slightly curly, grey-green leaves with white veins.
6. Black Magic (Brassica oleracea ‘Black Magic’): Lacinato-type kale with long, upright leaves that make harvesting easy.
7. Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch (Brassica oleracea ‘Blue Scotch’): Compact, upright open-pollinated variety with resistance to yellowing in extreme temperatures.
8. Dazzling Blue (Brassica oleracea ‘Dazzling Blue’): Lacinato-type open-pollinated variety hardier than traditional Lacinato kale, with smoky-blue leaves and purple midribs.
9. Madeley (Brassica oleracea ‘Madeley’): Open-pollinated British heirloom with large, tender leaves resembling collard greens.
10. Meadowlark (Brassica oleracea ‘Meadowlark’): Very cold-hardy German open-pollinated kale with narrow, short leaves on tall, upright plants.
11. Toscano (Brassica oleracea ‘Nero di Toscana’): Popular Italian heirloom also known as Dinosaur kale, with blistered leaves that can grow up to 2 feet long.
12. Perennial Kale (Brassica oleracea var. ramosa): Rare find with ornamental variegated leaves and a nutty taste, hardy in USDA zones 6-9 and can live up to five years.
13. Arun (Brassica oleracea ‘Arun’): Hybrid variety with straight midribs and stems, making it easy to prepare, and tolerance to hot weather.
14. Portuguese Kale (Brassica oleracea ‘Beira’): Hybrid with large, waxy leaves that form a loose, large head, longest growing season of all kale varieties.
15. Darkibor (Brassica oleracea ‘Darkibor’): Dutch hybrid variety with short, compact plants and very curly leaves, excellent cold-hardiness.
16. Mamba (Brassica oleracea ‘Mamba’): Lacinato-type hybrid kale bred for robust, uniform plants with improved tolerance to cold and wind.
17. Prizm (Brassica oleracea ‘Prizm’): Hybrid kale with short leaves that have almost no stems, making it easy to prepare, and quick regrowth of leaves after harvesting.
18. Redbor (Brassica oleracea ‘Redbor’): Hybrid kale with attractive red frilly leaves that turn purple in cold weather, suitable for edible landscaping.
19. Scarlet (Brassica oleracea ‘Scarlet’): Red kale variety with ruffled leaves, can be grown for baby leaves or mature plants, open-pollinated so seeds can be saved.
20. Starbor (Brassica oleracea ‘Starbor’): Hybrid kale with short, compact plants suitable for containers or small spaces, can be harvested for individual leaves or whole plants.
21. Winterbor (Brassica oleracea ‘Winterbor’): Hybrid kale named for its hardiness, mild flavor that improves after exposure to fall frosts, suitable for containers or raised beds.
Tips for Growing Kale
- Kale is generally easy to grow in well-drained soil with plenty of sunlight.
- Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost or sow directly in the garden in early spring.
- Water regularly and fertilize monthly with a balanced fertilizer.
- Harvest leaves as needed, either individually or by cutting the entire plant at the base.
- Kale can tolerate light frost but protect plants from extreme cold by mulching or covering with row covers.
