Kale, Red Russian

Red Russian kale is one of the most beautiful and tender kales with frilly, oak-shaped leaves with purple-red stems and veins. It's sweeter and less bitter than other kales, perfect for eating raw in salads, and it's incredibly cold-hardy—it'll keep producing even under snow.

Kale: This nutritional powerhouse is the most cold-hardy vegetable for your garden, surviving temperatures down to 10°F and actually sweetening dramatically after frost due to increased sugar content. Choose from diverse cultivar types, including frilly tender varieties perfect for fresh salads and smoothies, or the bumpy, blue-green lacinato (dinosaur) kale ideal for braising. A single plant provides continuous, vitamin-packed leaves for months through proper, bottom-up harvesting.

• Growing Tips: Transplant 4 weeks before last frost for a spring harvest or midsummer for a fall crop, spacing plants 12-18 inches apart. Fall plantings consistently produce superior, sweeter, and more tender leaves.

• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade (4-6 hours minimum).

• Preferred Soil: Rich, well-drained soil with consistent moisture; benefits from regular fertilization.

• Harvest Details: Begin harvesting lower leaves when they reach 8-10 inches long, leaving the central growing point (apical meristem) intact for continuous production; flavor significantly improves post-frost.