How to Grow Kale in the UK
Quick facts
Sow: indoors from March, or outdoors March–June
Plant out: late spring to early summer, when plants are 10–15 cm tall
Spacing: 30–60 cm apart depending on variety, rows at least 45 cm apart
Harvest: from September, right through winter into spring
Height: up to about 90 cm for tall varieties
Key moment: planting deep and firm, so plants stay anchored through winter
Kale is one of the hardiest vegetables you can grow in the UK. It shrugs off frost, keeps producing leaves from autumn to spring, and needs little attention once it's settled. It's a member of the cabbage family, so it shares their love of firm, rich soil, and their appeal to pigeons and caterpillars.
How a kale crop runs through the year
March–June: sow indoors or outdoors
Late spring to early summer: plant out when seedlings reach 10–15 cm
Summer: plants bulk up; keep them netted and weeded
Autumn: stake tall varieties before the winter winds
September to spring: pick leaves as you need them
Following spring: plants flower and come to an end
For timing in your area, see when to plant kale in the UK
Choosing a kale variety
Kale comes in smooth, puckered and tightly curled leaves, in greens through to deep purple. Tall varieties give the biggest harvests; compact ones suit small plots and pots.
These varieties hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit:
'Reflex': curly, dark green leaves you can pick over a long season
'Redbor': tall and sturdy, with purple leaves that look good in borders too
'Yurok': a compact Tuscan-style kale with long, puckered leaves
'Starbor': compact, a good choice for smaller plots
The well-known Italian 'Nero di Toscana' (cavolo nero) is also widely grown for its narrow, dark leaves.
Preparing the ground
Kale likes rich, well-drained soil that's been firmed down. Loose, fluffy soil lets tall plants rock in the wind and loosen their roots. It prefers sun but will manage in light shade.
Weed the bed, dig in plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost, then rake it level and firm it by treading over it. If you garden no-dig, spread the compost as a mulch and plant into it. Grow kale with its cabbage-family relatives as part of a crop rotation, so soil problems like clubroot don't build up.
You can read more in best soil for vegetable gardening in the UK
Sowing kale seeds
Indoors (from March): fill a module tray with multi-purpose compost and water it. Sow two seeds per module, about 1 cm deep. If both come up, remove the weaker one. Starting indoors keeps seedlings away from slugs and gives them a strong root system, which helps if your soil has clubroot.
Outdoors (March–June): make a drill about 1 cm deep. Then either:
Sow into a seedbed: space seeds 10–15 cm apart, then move the young plants to their final spot 6–8 weeks later.
Sow where they'll grow: sow three seeds at each spot, 30–60 cm apart depending on the variety, then thin to the strongest seedling.
For salad leaves: sow direct, about 7.5 cm apart, in small batches every few weeks.
Planting out: the step that sets kale up for winter
A mature kale plant can be almost a metre tall and heavy with leaves by midwinter. If it isn't well anchored, winter gales rock it loose and it struggles. Planting deep and firm now prevents that.
Plant out in late spring or early summer, when seedlings are 10–15 cm tall. Harden off indoor-raised plants first (see how to harden off seedlings). Then:
Lift each plant carefully, keeping as much root as you can.
Plant it deeper than it was growing before, with the lowest leaves sitting at soil level. This encourages deep rooting.
Firm the soil well around the stem with your hands or heel.
Water well.
Space large varieties up to 60 cm apart and compact ones about 30 cm. Wide spacing lets air move between plants, which helps keep fungal diseases away.
Cover the young plants with fine insect-proof mesh straight away. Kale is a favourite of pigeons, caterpillars and other brassica pests, and a mesh cover is far easier than dealing with damage later. Slugs also target young plants: see slugs eating seedlings.
Watering, feeding and weeding
Water seedlings and young plants regularly so the soil doesn't dry out. Once established, kale in the ground only needs water in long dry spells. A mulch of compost around the plants holds moisture in. For more detail, see how often to water kale
Kale rarely needs feeding in good soil. On poor soil or in pots, a nitrogen-rich organic feed gives it a boost. Keep the bed weeded and pull off yellowing lower leaves, so air can move freely around the plants.
Staking kale for winter
In autumn, push a sturdy bamboo cane in beside each tall plant and tie the stem to it. This matters most in exposed gardens, where winter winds can loosen the roots of top-heavy plants.
Growing kale in containers
Compact varieties grow well in pots. Use one plant per container at least 30 cm wide and deep, filled with multi-purpose compost, and plant it deep as you would in the ground. For more detail, see growing kale in containers
Harvesting kale
Start picking from September. Take two or three of the lowest leaves from each plant at a time and leave the top growing, so the plant keeps producing all winter. For more detail, see when to harvest kale
Common kale problems
Pigeons and caterpillars: leaves stripped to the veins or full of holes. Insect-proof mesh keeps out both.
Flea beetles: tiny holes in young leaves, worst in dry spring weather.
Mealy cabbage aphid and whitefly: grey or white insects clustered under the leaves. Mealy aphids can make kale inedible, so remove badly infested leaves.
Clubroot and cabbage root fly: plants wilt and stop growing because the roots are swollen or eaten. Rotate crops and raise plants indoors if clubroot is in your soil.
Spring flowering: most kale is biennial, so it flowers the spring after sowing and stops producing good leaves.
If your kale is slow or struggling, see why kale doesn't grow
Common questions
Is kale easy to grow in the UK?
Yes. Kale copes with cold weather better than almost any other vegetable, grows in most soils and needs little care once planted. The main job is protecting it from pigeons and caterpillars with a mesh cover.
Can kale grow in shade?
Kale grows best in sun but will cope with light shade. Growth is slower in shadier spots, so leave a little more time before harvesting. For other options, see vegetables that grow in shade
Does kale come back every year?
Most kale is biennial. It crops through its first autumn and winter, then flowers the following spring and finishes. A few old perennial types, such as 'Taunton Deane', keep cropping for several years.
Why should kale be planted deep?
Planting with the lowest leaves at soil level helps kale root deeply. Tall plants need that anchorage to stay upright through winter wind and rain.
Timings, spacing, varieties, pests and care based on RHS guidance.