![]() Roughly chop up the avocado and sprinkle pieces over the kale. Massage until the kale turns a bright green. This helps to enhance kale flavor and palatability. Put the torn kale into a large bowl or zip-top bag.Ĭlose the bag and have kids take turns massaging the bag of kale while the rest of the recipe is created. Optional: various chopped garden herbs or edible flowers Kids love this smoothie, and they can also help make it.Ģ bunches of kale, such as lacinato, red Russian, etc., torn into bite-size pieces and rib removed and discarded Add one or two cubes to a morning smoothie with frozen banana, pineapple and coconut water for a healthy breakfast option. Once frozen, release the kale cubes from the tray and store them in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer. You can slow roast it with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for kale chips (my kid’s favorite method).įor a storage idea, blend kale with some water and freeze it in ice cube trays for future use. To get the maximum nutritional benefits of kale, eat it raw like in the salad recipe below, or cook it with oil and garlic. As always, keep your soil and garden clean and healthy. Home-brewed insecticidal soap sprays can help deter them. Learn to identify the barrel-shaped, black and white eggs and nymph stages of them so you can remove them before they reach adulthood and do the most damage. Harlequin bugs are red and black hard-shelled insects that also target cole crops and can multiply quickly if left unchecked. BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) is an organic pest spray that will help control caterpillar pests, but you can usually keep an infestation at bay by checking daily and hand-picking. Rub them off between your thumb and finger.Ĭabbage worms can be prevented by row cover and by hand-picking them. To look for aphids, find them on the stems or underneath leaves. Look out for pests like harlequin bugs, aphids and cabbage loopers or cabbage worms, especially in the early fall and then again in late spring when the temperatures are warm. It should easily snap free from the stalk. To do this, remove the outer leaves of the plant by gently but firmly holding the leaf at the stem and pushing down on it. Harvest the leaves when the plant is about 1 foot tall. Make sure there is at least 1 foot between kale plants. I’m not a proponent of over-planting a garden for this reason. The plants need excellent airflow to prevent pests and disease. The final spacing of kale plants is important. Plant seeds or transplants in well-tilled soil, and keep seeds moist until germination. Kale will continue to produce leaves until May or June when it finally gets too hot and the plant begins to bolt. Kale plants can withstand temperatures of 10 degrees, and cold weather actually enhances the flavor. If you want to plant kale before the temperature drops below 75 degrees, you can plant it in a naturally shaded area in the garden or you can apply a shade cloth over small plantings until they adapt to the temperature and direct sun. Like other leafy greens, it can be planted from mid-September through early December in Central Texas. Kale grows best in the temperature range of 50 to 75 degrees. It is considered one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and because of this, it was a popular vegetable to grow in wartime victory gardens to ensure that Americans’ diets remained healthy due to food rationing. Kale is high in vitamins A and C and iron and also has a long growing season that allows the gardener to continuously harvest leaves. This genus of plants is known as cole crops. It is a member of the brassica genus in the mustard family. Kale is an easy-to-grow and adaptable fall crop to plant in September when the temperatures are still warm. Sneak some kale into a smoothie or go full-on raw kale salad and you might become a kale convert. The ease of growing kale in Central Texas in fall coupled with its unmatched nutritional benefits should have you planting and eating more kale this winter. ![]() I know for some, it’s a vegetable that might get purposefully overlooked or only experimented with on occasion because we’ve heard how healthy it is. I have to admit, I’ve always been a very conscientious eater, and it probably helped that I didn’t start with an aversion to kale. One of my many roommates at the time probably cooked it with tofu for dinner, and I liked it. ![]() It was most likely while living in Portland, Ore., during the kale-crazed early 2000s. I don’t know when I began eating kale regularly, but I definitely didn’t grow up eating it.
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