How To Grow Tuscan Kale 

Want to learn how to grow Tuscan Kale with me? I love kale – in a salad, in sandwiches, even toasted in the oven; it’s delicious and nutritious.

People eat Tuscan kale for the nutritious but sweet, nutty flavor the leafy vegetable adds to your diet. If you’ve been looking for an aid to guide you on growing kale, then look no further; below is a comprehensive guide for you.

Tuscan kale can be grown from seed or young seedling kale plants about 2-3 weeks before the last spring frost. However, kale is best grown in many regions in autumn (6-8 weeks before the first fall frost), when temperatures are cooler. Kale tastes better when the leaves mature in cold weather.

Kale is an heirloom vegetable that goes by many names, including Toscana Jake, Italian Kale, Black Kale, Dinosaur Kale, and Lacinato Kale. The plant can grow up to three feet and, when matured, looks a bit like a miniature palm tree with a rosette of narrow leaves held above straight stems. (source)

A Quick Guide To How To Grow Tuscan Kale

1. Kale grows well in both cool and warm climates. In the cool season, the kale nursery bed or garden bed should be under direct sunlight, while in the warm season, you should plant it under partial shade. 

2. If you’re looking to plant kale with the crops in your garden, that’s a good idea because kale loves companion plants. Be careful not to plant them near tomatoes, beans, or strawberries, but beets, celery, onions, and potatoes.

3. Kale grows wonderfully well in a nitrogen-rich loamy soil. It has to be moist but not soggy for good germination. 

4. The soil should not be too acidic, so a pH level of 5.5 to 6.8 will do.

5. If you’re looking to have well-sprouted kale, have the temperature of your soil be around 70⁰F. 

6. If you’re starting to grow your kale inside in a nursery bed, do so 5-7 weeks before the last frost, while when starting them on your garden bed, it should be done 2-4 weeks before the last frost or just as soon as you can work the ground in the springtime. (source)

Requirements To Plant Tuscan Kale Seeds

Botanical name	Brassica oleracea
Type of plant	Annual or biennial herb
Best season for planting	Autumn to late winter
Maturity time	70 days
Planting method	Nursery Bed, Garden Bed
Soil type	Well-draining loamy soil
Soil pH	5.5 – 6.8
Sun exposure	Full sunlight to partial shade
Bloom time	Early spring
Flower color	Yellow

How to Prepare the Plant Site for Growing Tuscan Kale

The time you plan to harvest your kale plants will determine when you plant them. For a summer harvest, it is best to direct sow the seeds in early spring, as soon as you can work the soil. For a winter or fall harvest, sow the seeds directly in the ground about 2-3 months before the first frost date.

You can transplant kale seedlings to the garden 3-5 weeks before the last spring frost date in early spring. Since the temperature is likely to dip, cover the young plants at night. For a fall/winter harvest, you should transplant the seedlings 6-8 weeks before the first fall frost.

As for the plant side requirements, we already know that kale needs rich loamy soil with enough nitrogen and compost manure to germinate well. The soil’s degree of organic matter also improves the crop’s growth stability. 

When finally planting them out from your pot or containers, it is essential to harden them before planting them out.

How to Plant Tuscan Kale

Tuscan kale is a proud member of the cabbage family, which accounts for its relatively robust and forward flavor that borders (and sometimes tips over into) bitterness. As for color, Tuscan kale leaves grow to appear greenish and or purple with a coarse, rough, and hard texture. (source)

Follow These Steps To Plant Tuscan Kale From Seeds

1. Fill containers with a mixture of high-quality potting mix and compost

2. For the steady growth of kale, you can add a slow-release granular fertilizer to the growing medium.

3. Transplant seedlings or direct kale seeds by sowing the seeds just ¼ or ½ inches deep in mid to late spring. 

4. After the plant has grown for two weeks, thin the seedlings to have 8-12 inches of space. If you are transplanting young plants, space them 18-24 inches apart.

5. You must always keep the soil moist to boost germination.

6. As you water the plant, keep an eye out for pests.

Tuscan Kale Growing Care and Maintenance

Tuscan Kale is a type of greenery that’s perfect for vegetable dishes. You already know it would be great to see the fresh curly leaves as a salad or a vegetable smoothie. The plants form beautiful rosettes of blue-green leaves perfect for the vegetable or flower garden. 

The leaves are thinner and more tender than other types of kale, making this an excellent choice for both raw and cooked dishes. Furthermore, it’s quick and easy to grow with a baby crop ready to harvest a month from seeding and mature leaves barely four weeks after. 

Maintaining Your Tuscan Kale Garden

1. Give the plant 1-1½ inches of water daily to make them look fresh. Depending on how hot the weather is, you may need to increase the amount of water.

2. Feed your kale plant with continuous-release plant food.

3. Reduce weeds and cool your kale plants by mulching the soil.

4. In the fall, heavily mulch the soil again after the first hard freeze to ensure they continue to produce leaves in the cold.

5. If you densely planted seeds and find your bed with thick rows of sprouts, your kale will thrive best if you thin them out.

6. You should continuously remove yellowed leaves. If they are yellowing or have holes, it’s a sign that you’re not harvesting quickly enough!

How to Harvest Tuscan Kale

Tuscan kale is a quick-growing green, and impatient gardeners won’t have to wait too long for that first harvest. It takes 70 days for you to harvest a kale plant directly sown from seed in the garden, while for transplanted plants, it takes about 55 days. You will know they are ready for picking when the leaves are as large as your hand.

Check out this pruning kit I picked up for harvesting. It has several different scissors and cutters, so you can use it on pretty much all your vegetables and fruit harvesting.

Harvesting Tuscan Kale

1. Pick only about a fistful of leaves with each harvest.

2. When harvesting, start with the older, larger leaves closest to the bottom of the stalk, and be sure to take each leaf stem-and-all. Discard any yellow or torn leaves.

3. Try not to pick the terminal bud at the top center of the plant, as it keeps the plant productive.

4. You can also harvest baby greens (for salad) when they are about 3 inches high by pinching off 1-2 leaves from each plant. 

Harvest Tip: I like to use my Gorilla Cart when I’m harvesting in my garden. It can take a lot of weight, so lugging dirt or even rocks is fine with this cart. Having a cart is helpful for Kale because they get really big and bushy, so you need something with some size to carry them for you.

Frequently Asked Questions