What's in my Garden: Kale
Published: August 21, 2026
Kale is one of those super foods. I have a recipe book dedicated to different kale recipes. It’s weird. But I like it. The book ‘Fifty Shades of Kale’ was published by a nutrition doctor as a bonus! Full confession, I haven’t found a recipe in this book that I like.. But I’m still trying!
I want to love Kale so I’m always trying new recipes. To date, the main way I enjoy kale is simply in a salad.
An amazing tip I’ve picked up from Fifty Shades of Kale is lemon juice. By adding lemon juice to the kale, it helps your body absorb the iron in the kale better. It also seems to break the kale down a little I’ve noticed making it nicer to eat.
Kale Health Benefits
Some of the health benefits of kale include
antioxidants,
vitamins,
iron,
calcium; and
magnesium.
It’s also an anti inflammatory.
Cold Climate Gardening
In the cooler climate of Nova Scotia, growing kale is a great option because there’s varieties for any climate including ones that their taste will improve when they are exposed to front.
You can do two rounds of harvests with kale, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Growing Tips for Kale
Growing tips for Kale
Direct seed as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring (I usually plant in late April here in Nova Scotia)
Sow again in late July/ August to have a fall harvest
Water regularly
Seed depth: 1/2”
Seed spacing: 1”
Fertilize until the plant reaches 6” tall
Row spacing: 24”
Days to Sprout: 7-14
Days to Mature: 55-60
If you have a favorite kale recipe you’d like me to try, leave it in the comments or send me an email!
