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Sign up freeBrassica oleracea (Lacinato)
Italian dinosaur kale (cavolo nero) with long dark blue-green crinkled leaves. Sweeter than curly kale. Essential to Tuscan ribollita. Very cold-hardy.
Brassica oleracea (Curly)
vegetable
A fellow Brassicaceae — similar growing habits to Lacinato Kale
Start Lacinato Kale indoors about 6 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in partial sun, spaced about 45 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 65 days.
Lacinato Kale seed rarely stays viable beyond 4 years — track what's still worth sowing.
Water: Medium · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Rich, moist, slightly alkaline
Coccinellidae
The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.
Aleyrodidae
A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.
These three thrive alongside Lacinato Kale — and alongside each other.
