My prediction is that we might have a bad Winter this year. Already in the garden Upstate we have nights in the 20’s and a few days of snow. Plus I saw a white wooly bear caterpillar in the woods and Google told me they were signs of a deep Winter approaching. The garden is pretty much done for the year minus the collards, Brussels Sprouts and kale. The collards and Brussels Sprouts will call it quits when they’re ready to but I really wanted to save the kale. Even though kale is pretty hearty and can withstand cold frost temperatures, it gets very cold in the mountains so I decided to bring it inside our greenhouse to live for the next few months to make sure it survives.
Like my post on bringing pepper plants indoors for the Winter, this has similar instructions. We dig up the plants carefully and then transplant to new pots. We’ll water the plants weekly. Even though it takes a little work to get them dug up, it’s worth it to have fresh vegetables throughout the Winter if you are in a cold climate. This is our bed of kale. It’s still looking good but the drop of temperatures caused it’s lower leaves to start to die. Time to save the kale so I can make Kale Salad!
Very carefully with a shovel dig the plant out. If you feel like you are snagging on a plant root, trace it with your hands and dig it out – careful, try not to rip any roots! This is one kale plant dug up. I keep these kale plants in our greenhouse but you could also bring them inside your home and place them near the window or patio door. Just make sure to keep the plants watered and you’ll have kale all Winter long!
