These curly varieties can be green, bluish, or purplish-red in color. Curly kale leaves grow whorled around a woody upright stem. These types are most commonly used for chips, green smoothies, and pestos. Curly kales are distinctively mild-flavored and easy to cook with. ![]() ![]() These crinkly, ruffled leaves are found bunched together in nearly every supermarket in the United States. ![]() When you think of kale, curly kale is what most commonly comes to mind. Curly Kale The leaves of curly kale are crinkly and frilly. Let’s take a deeper look at each category that you’ll end up choosing from. Kale in particular originated as a wild mustard-like cabbage plant native to the Mediterranean.Īs the plant was domesticated and seeds were disseminated across Europe, kale greens were refined into four major different types: the Curly kales of modern grocery stores, the Lacinato kales of Italy, the ultra-cold-tolerant Russian kales of Scandinavia, and the more recently developed baby kale microgreens.īefore we dig into the best seed varieties, it helps to understand the key differences between the different kale categories. The Brassicaceae, or Cole Crop family, is a medley of mix-and-matched cabbage cousins including kale, bok choy, collards, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, mustards, and beyond. If you’re looking for the best kale varieties for your unique climate and taste buds, we’ve brought together the top 15 organic and heirloom options coveted by organic farmers and gardeners around the country. If you’re bored with regular bland curly kale, you will be amazed by how much flavor, sweetness, and texture homegrown kale can have! You can trial as many cultivars as you’d like since there is no risk of cross-pollination in your garden. You can sow it in the spring and continuously harvest its leaves all throughout the summer, fall ,and even into the winter.īy planting your own greens, you also gain access to dozens of unique varieties that you can’t find anywhere else. Plus, the plants are like a gift that keeps on giving. The seeds are very affordable and don’t take much effort to tend. Thankfully, this vegetable is remarkably easy to grow in your garden. But anyone who eats large amounts of this nutrient-dense green can quickly break the bank buying $3 bunches at the farmer’s market or grocery store. It is best eaten fresh or enjoyed in “short-cook” dishes like stir fry, as opposed to slow-cooked soups and stews.Growing a Diverse Kale Garden Grow kale in your home garden to save at the supermarket.īotanically known as Brassica oleracea, kale is ubiquitous in health and foodie circles today. Lacinato types are also appreciated for their heat tolerance. ![]() What makes ‘Black Magic’ unusual is that the green leaves are so dark, they are often almost black, and at a length of about 18 inches, they are quite attractive in the garden. This appearance is often referred to as “savoyed.” Black MagicĪ cultivated variety of heirloom lacinato kale, aka Tuscan (Toscano), or dinosaur kale, this type is known by its slender, bumpy, or puckered leaves that resemble straps. Noteworthy tolerance of heat and cold are noted, and apply to mature plants, not seedlings, which are always vulnerable to temperature extremes. Read on to discover the unique features of each of these delicious types of kale.
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