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Gardening Health & Lifestyle

How To Grow Two Completely Different Vegetables From One Kale Plant!

Spring Harvest Kale | WholeLifestyleNutrition.com

Did You Know?

 

So most of you already probably know about kale and its amazing leaves to harvest. I absolutely love kale! I love to make kale chips, throw some kale into my eggs or sauté kale with a little butter and salt… oh my, can’t wait to harvest my kale this spring!

But today I want to share with you something totally different about kale, something you might not already know! Did you know that you can get two completely different vegetables from the same 1 kale plant?

Well I am here to tell you that you can! This post has been a year in the making! Don’t let that scare you, I will explain that in one moment.

 

Growing Kale

 

Last spring (2011) I planted my kale, a cool weather crop, in the very early spring. You can also plant your kale in the fall and harvest up to your first major freeze.

I was quite surprised how hardy kale really is. I live in Wisconsin and we have some pretty brutal winters up here. In January after several snow falls, my kale was still living.

So after I planted my kale in the very early spring, I harvested my leaves until the warm summer came. Once the warm summer came, the kale became quite bitter so I knew my season was over for that kale plant.

 

Winterizing Kale

 

Normally I would pull the plant, but a friend of mine told me that kale could be wintered over and produce a second harvest that is all together a different vegetable. So here is what I did!

After my spring harvest was no longer edible, I cut the kale at the base of the plant, leaving about 3 inches of stalk coming out of the soil.

This was done in the warm late summer months. If your kale continues to grow that is fine, you will still produce the second vegetable real soon. Now allow the plant to go dormant and winter over.

 

Growing The Same Kale Plant The Following Spring

 

It is now springtime 2012, 1 year later after I planted this first plant. Here is what my plant looks like.

Remember, this was planted 1 year ago and this plant has gone through freezing temperatures and now it is spring and it has started to grow as a perennial would.

 

Kale’s Second Vegetable

 

Look closely at this plant above. Notice that there are clusters at the top of the plant. Now the leaves are still edible AND the clusters are edible too.

These clusters are very similar to broccoli! Just like broccoli, the kale plant produces a flower (the clusters).

Now the flower/cluster has not bloomed or bolt to seed yet and the little buds on the clusters are still closed up. You want to make sure that you eat this vegetable before it flowers.

Once the buds open up and flower, the plant or clusters are no longer edible. Here is a close up of what your clusters look like.

 

How To Cook This New Vegetable

 

When you decide to harvest your clusters, just steam them as you would broccoli. I steamed mine for less then 5 minutes in just about a 1/2 inch of water.

The color of the clusters turned a nice bright green color! Do not overcook.

Drain and add some grass fed butter and some sea salt. You will be amazed how wonderful these truly are!

 

Have you ever got a second vegetable from your kale plant?

What are some of your favorite kale recipes?

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13 Comments

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Comments

  1. Donna Clements says

    April 21, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Haven’t tried kale yet.

    Reply
  2. Donna Clements says

    April 21, 2012 at 10:53 am

    But I love growing things…are these easy growers?

    Reply
  3. Julie Skinner says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    I had so much springtime kale head “broccolini” last spring that I blanched and froze it in serving sized portions. It was great tossed into soups and chopped, steamed and stirred into mashed potatoes with a bit of raw cheese and butter!

    Reply
  4. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    Julie it was you who taught me this wasn’t it? I couldn’t remember at the time who taught me this and now ahhhhh it was you 🙂 We did discuss this last year right?

    Reply
  5. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    Donna kale is super easy to grow! Give it a try, it taste so good right out of the garden!

    Reply
  6. Donna Clements says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    I have some in the fridge that I bought , haven’t had a chance to try it yet…doing so in a bit, what is the flavor like? Have had “greens” (southern style) that were horribly bitter, so I have been afraid to try it.

    Reply
  7. Julie Skinner says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    Yes, Halle. I thought I was just being lazy when I didn’t tear out my kale bed the fall before. What a lovely accident! Donna, I’ve never liked the big, mature kale leaves because of the bitter factor. But if you can find them young or grow your own and pick them when they’re the size of your hand or smaller, they’re yummy.

    Reply
  8. Stephie McCarthy says

    April 29, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    I eat the flowers as well.

    Reply
  9. Whole Lifestyle Nutrition says

    April 29, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    Stephie good to know, some of mine shot to seed, I will try the flowers 🙂

    Reply
  10. Wonderwoman says

    April 30, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    You know, I have been growing kale for years and I just learned this year about the flower buds. I have been enjoying them raw in salads and they are wonderful.

    Reply
    • hallecottis says

      April 30, 2012 at 6:10 pm

       @Wonderwoman Stephie (below) just said the same thing about enjoying the flowers!  I can’t wait to try it 🙂

      Reply
  11. Robin says

    October 12, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    I only planted Kale this year, 1 12 foot row gave me 14 bags (plastic grocery bags). Plants still growing now in October in B.C. Canada. I will try to see if I can get a new crop in the spring on the same plants and plant more in the spring. thanks for the info.

    Reply
  12. Vegan Badass says

    May 7, 2016 at 11:01 am

    Or you could give up your dairy addiction and use…some…oil….that wasn’t stolen from a raped mother’s nipples instead of going to her baby… YOU support this, cowsucker: meatvideo.com

    Reply

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I'm Halle: food lover, modernized hippy, blogger, and a mama trying to solve all problems naturally.  I love photography, especially shooting images of food!  My goal is to make you drool and inspire you to want all things healthy!  ❤Learn More →

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