How to Harvest and Preserve Kale
This how-to tutorial will walk you through the entire process of preserving Kale.
The extremely long growing season this year produced a non-stop crop of fresh Kale from my garden all season long. I am amazed at the amount of fresh greens one of my small 5' x 5' raised beds offered me this summer. I have enjoyed a bountiful harvest of fresh, nutrient rich Kale and have had to share a lot of it with family and friends. You can only eat so much of one thing, right?
Now that fall is upon us in Western, N.Y. it is time for the final harvest. I took the above pictures of the two varieties of Kale I grew this year. You can see how nicely it did for me.
To harvest, cut the Kale stem slightly below where the leafy part begins to grow.
To harvest, cut the Kale stem slightly below where the leafy part begins to grow.
Rinse in water
Thouroughly wash all the leaves to remove any dirt and drain well.
Fold leaf in half
The easiest way to remove the stems is to fold each leaf in half. Then slice down the edge of the vein with a very sharp knife.
Trimming the stems
Continue trimming the stems from all the leaves.
Stems Removed
Cut into smaller pieces
I like to chop some of the larger leaves in half before I blanch them.
Bring water to a rapid boil
Blanch Kale 3 minutes
This will kill any bacteria that may have been on the leaves and prevent the Kale from spoiling.
Remove from boiling water
I cover my kale beds with a frost blanket and can eat kale all winter. The kale and chard I have can withstand freezes, -32 degrees easily even without row covers. I've canned kale and chard too. Great post!
Wow, I have never tried the row covers. I do use cold frames in early spring to keep my young seedlings from the early frost. I still have my Chard and some Kale still in the garden, I may just put up a quick cold frame to keep them going. I am so glad you mentioned this as I don't usually prolong my growing season as my gardens produce so much that I have enough produce to last till the next season. Great idea, thanks.
I'm from Oregon, we had a small two acre hobby farm, with the row covers the kale and chard survived a week of -zero degrees with a little frost burn. Try saving a few plants and let them go to seed in the spring. You get free seeds and endless greens. Some of my plants here 3 years old and still going strong. I would cover the bare stocks in dirt and new plants would grow.
Wow, that is great info, I will definitely do that with the ones still in the raised bed. It will be nice to see them in the spring. Thanks for the heads up.
In The Netherlands, we like to harvest kale after the first frost, because it is supposed to taste better then. Any such habit in your part of the world?
Yes, sometimes we do that here too. I harvest all summer long to enjoy it and always do the last this time of year as our nights get cold. It is always tasty to me either way. ;-)
Wow, that is awesome. I loved it ;) @sunscape
Thank you @anahilarski, I love that Kale is so rich in Vitamins and minerals. It is very good for you!
Very useful post, thanks very much
You are very welcome, thank you for your support!