Kale cabbage: types of varieties, description, cultivation and photos

Kale is a wild variety. This is a leafy variant of the culture that does not form a head, but looks more like a giant curly lettuce. Depending on the variety, kale has a different color of leaves from light green to bright purple. Moreover, the final brightest and most saturated color acquires after frosts.

Description

In America and England, this cabbage is called "Russian red", although in Russia this species is not very common and is more often used as an ornamental for decorating gardens, creating park compositions, due to the variety of colors.Recently, kale, along with other types of similar cabbage, is gaining popularity, especially among adherents of a he althy lifestyle.

Kale contains a large number of various trace elements needed by our body. It contains:

• Copper;
• Zinc;
• Iron;
• Selenium;
• Sodium;
• Magnesium;
• Phosphorus;
• potassium in abundance;
• easily absorbed calcium;
• vitamins B1, B2, C, E, K, PP and active vitamin C.

The content of Retinol (vitamin A) in the average portion exceeds the daily requirement for a person by 2 times, but this does not create an excess of this vitamin, because it is present in the form of beta-carotene. In fact, this unique vegetable has only 9 essential and 18 non-essential amino acids.

In terms of protein content, kale can replace meat, so it has earned special attention among vegetarians. Kale is a supplier of Omega-3 fatty acids, so necessary for our body. Scientists have identified an antibacterial effect, the ability to destroy cancer cells and the ability to effectively reduce cholesterol levels. Kale is recommended in the treatment of glaucoma and other eye diseases, as well as to increase the overall immunity of the body.

It is able to remove toxic substances from the body in case of complex chemical poisoning, it is an antioxidant.

Only leaves are eaten, preferably raw, so they retain all their beneficial trace elements and minerals as much as possible, although after heat treatment they still contain enough substances necessary for our body. Nutritionists recommend eating this type of cabbage daily.

In the menu of different countries, it is used to prepare a wide variety of dishes: salads, soups, side dishes, cabbage rolls, and even make preparations for the winter. They can be frozen and dried, by and large used as ordinary cabbage with a higher content of benefits for humans.

Cabbage in red and purple varieties gives a characteristic color to the preparations and can be used as a natural food coloring. This is the description of this plant.

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Cabbage Kale has a lot of varieties that differ from each other in color, size, leaf curl, taste and micronutrient content, so red varieties are even called iron cabbage, due to their high iron content. Some types of kale have soft leaves, others are tougher and more suitable for heat treatment. After the first frost, kale turns a bright purple color and the leaves become softer.

All varieties of kale are biennial, frost-resistant, withstand temperatures of -15°С -18°С. After wintering, they are quickly covered with new leaves, giving an early harvest.

There are enough varieties of Kale to satisfy the taste of even the most selective gardener:

• red;
• Siberian;
• curly;
• premier;
• cane;
• blue dwarf;
• black Tuscany;
• scarlet;
• redboring;
• reflex.

Among these varieties you can find both fairly compact (blue dwarf - often mistaken for an ornamental plant) and tall (cane Kale can reach 2 meters). Redbor F1 kale will decorate any landscape design, reaching a height of one and a half meters, it has red curly leaves, in general, it looks very unusual on the site, like a palm tree.Black Tuscany is also very attractive for garden decoration, it has dense tuberculate leaves with a bluish matte tint.

The number of hybrids bred increases every year, so the list is not exhaustive.

Average ripening of cabbage is 75 - 90 days, but there are also more early varieties. In general, you can pluck the leaves after they reach a length of 20 cm, so the whole season until late autumn, and new ones will grow in their place. Before wintering, cabbage is cut to a height of about 10 centimeters, and in spring it is again covered with carved leaves. Many gardeners leave bushes uncut, which is also acceptable.

If your area experiences very severe frosts in winter, it is best to cover the cabbage with mulch, but in most regions there is enough snow cover to prevent the crop from freezing.

How to grow cabbage

In order to grow Kale in your garden, special skills are not required, especially if you have previously had experience in growing any horticultural crops. For an earlier collection of leaves for greenery, seeds should be planted for seedlings in early April. Before planting, the seeds can be kept in a special solution to improve germination, or simply wrapped in damp gauze for several days, after keeping a week in the freezer.

Gauze should be moistened periodically, avoiding drying out. After the seeds have hatched, they should be planted in pots (trays) with a nutrient mixture, you can use the store for seedlings. The pots are covered with a film, creating the effect of a greenhouse and preventing the top layer from drying out, put in a warm place.

Sprouts usually appear on the 5-7th day, after which the film is removed, you can cover with glass caps, it all depends on the climatic conditions of the environment.

In late April or early May, seedlings can be planted in the ground, it is not afraid of frost. Before planting, the bed should be prepared in advance, mineral fertilizer should be applied, compost and wood ash can be added. Planting is carried out at a distance of 30-45 cm, but here it all depends on the Kale variety.

Sprouts are planted, sprinkling with earth to the bottom leaf. You can plant several different types of cabbage in different parts of the flower garden, or even form a whole composition out of them, identifying low-growing varieties on the first line and then in ascending order. In this case, you will be able to combine business with pleasure, using all your imagination to create a unique look for your garden.

You can plant seeds directly into the ground, this method differs only in the later start of harvesting. Caring for kale throughout the season is not particularly different from caring for other garden crops. Several times during the season, the soil should be loosened, fertilized, weeded, watered as the soil dries.Leaf cabbage, like ordinary cabbage, is recommended to be spudded 2-3 times per season. This is the principle of growing kale.

When choosing a place for the future placement of beds for leafy cabbage, well-lit areas should be preferred. Curly cabbage Kale does not like acidic soil, special fertilizers should be applied, and a small concentration of citric acid solution can also help against acidification of the soil.

Ways to control pests and diseases

Now a lot of varieties have been bred that are less susceptible to diseases and pests. If you use fresh greens from a bush, then folk methods should be used against diseases and pests, because chemical treatment will make our cabbage unfit for human consumption. Marigold flowers will scare butterflies away from our harvest.

In dry weather, after sunset, you can spray our bushes with a solution of a small concentration of seven percent table vinegar, diluted in a bucket of water, which will help protect our seedlings from garden pests.You can dust young plants with wood ash and tobacco dust. All procedures for processing plants are carried out in dry, calm weather, after rain, the procedure is repeated if necessary.

Chemicals should be used as a last resort, if already folk sparing methods do not help to save the vegetable crop. Moths, flies, cruciferous fleas, rapeseed sawfly, flower beetle, wireworm are found on curly cabbage. For the root system, bears are dangerous. With improper care, if the leaves are too waterlogged, slugs can settle in them.

Diseases in kale are the same as in any cruciferous crop. But our gardeners still more often encounter pests on their site than diseases. With proper agricultural technology, proper care and protection from pests, you can get a very good harvest, and have fresh vitamin greens on the table all summer.

Store kale in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days, the leaves can be frozen for the winter, after defrosting they become even sweeter and have a more delicate texture.

For an early harvest, you should choose the Premier variety, it is a fast-growing Kale, useful in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Gourmets distinguish the Dino variety as the most delicious, it has thin leaves. Curly Kale is the sweetest. Choose the Kale of your choice and get the most out of it.

Kale on the table is very good fresh, in salads, but in ready-made dishes it is no worse. Kale goes well with meat. Sauerkraut Kale is no less useful in terms of vitamin content than fresh or stewed. Bright multi-colored sheets of Kale will serve as a wonderful decoration for festive dishes on any table. They can serve as a base on serving plates for snacks.

Choose Kale to your taste and be he althy! Let the eye rejoice at bright colors and unusual shapes, and the body with useful vitamins and minerals!

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