Our kale is looking beautiful and we’ve been harvesting Red Russian and Lacinato kale for weeks.  Our Curly kale should be ready soon.

This is a good time to remember sustainable harvesting of kale (and all leafy greens). A good rule of thumb is to never take more than a third of the leaves, as they are needed to keep the plant growing. If a kale plant has several healthy leaves, you can harvest a one or two leaves starting from the bottom of the plant, and then move on to the next plant. Snap off the stem or use a knife or scissors to cut the leaf at the base of the stem. Do not take just the leaf and do not take the whole plant! This allows the plant to continue growing and producing for your fellow gardeners. You can see sustainable harvesting in this video.

We have several kale patches so you should be able to harvest enough kale for your meal using this method. Sustainable harvesting is also the way to go with the mustard greens and our little chard patch, knowing that we will have a lot more chard in the new year!

Happy eating!