Guide
Harvesting kale to keep plants productive
Kale is a cut-and-come-again crop that can provide harvests from autumn through to spring. How you pick determines how long the plant keeps going.
Pick from the outside in
Always take the oldest, lowest leaves first - the large outer leaves that sit away from the central growing tip. Leave the top 5–6 youngest leaves around the growing point intact. This is what allows the plant to keep producing. Taking leaves from the centre or removing the growing tip drastically shortens the productive life of the plant.
How many leaves at a time
Take no more than a third of the plant's leaf area in one harvest. For an established plant this is usually four to six outer leaves. More than that and the plant struggles to recover and grows more slowly. Harvest every ten to fourteen days rather than stripping heavily once a month.
Flavour after frost
Kale flavour improves significantly after the first frosts of autumn - cold converts starches to sugars, mellowing the bitterness. Many growers consider autumn and winter kale better eating than summer kale. Do not panic if plants look rough after a hard frost - leaves that droop in the cold often recover as temperatures rise during the day.
What to pick
Young leaves are more tender and less bitter. For salads, pick leaves 10–15 cm long. For cooking, larger outer leaves are fine - remove the central midrib from large leaves if it is tough. Yellowing or damaged leaves should be removed promptly to improve airflow and reduce disease risk.
End of life signs
Kale eventually bolts in spring as day length increases. The central stem elongates and the plant produces small yellow flowers. Flower shoots and young buds at this stage are edible and worth harvesting. Once flowering begins in earnest the leaf quality declines and the plant can be composted.
Relevant to