Kale harvesting

YCW

This is probably a lost cause but I wondered if anyone knows if kale can survive being cut at the stalk? 

My girlfriend cut off the whole head of one of my two-feet-tall redbor kale so that only the stalk was left. I'm pretty upset that after all the care and attention and fending off pigeons for the last few months, this is how it ends! Is there any chance it will regrow from the stump or should I dig it out and put something else in now?

Dovefromabove

With any luck it'll send out some more shoots and youll get another crop ... Probably not a lot and not until well into the spring but I'll cross my fingers for you. 

Last edited: 20 October 2017 07:45:34

raisingirl

yes it will probably resprout - as Dove says it may be a while before the leaves are big enough to harvest again. On the plus side it'll possibly be giving you nice fresh leaves as the other non-cut ones are beginning to go over 

Dovefromabove

One tip I just remembered is to  cut an 'X' in the cut surface at the top of the stem ...  just about a quarter of an inch (sorry, I'm still in Imperial measurements ).  Somehow this seems to stimulate the growth of shoots in brassicas ... it works when you've cut a cabbage too ... cut an 'X' in the top of the stalk and you'll get fresh leaves you can use like spring greens in the spring. 

Dovefromabove

You mean there's another 'X Factor' other than the one in the top of the cabbage stalk 

Dovefromabove