Black Magic Kale Vegetable Seeds Packet

• Seed trays or small pots: For an optional indoor start 6-8 weeks before the last frost; kale also direct sows well.
• Seed-starting mix: A fine, sterile mix reduces damping-off.
• Grow light: Keeps seedlings short and sturdy.
• Floating row cover: Keeps flea beetles and cabbage moths off young plants.
• Plant labels: Useful for tracking spring and midsummer sowings.

• Scissors or pruning snips: Cut leaves at the stem rather than tearing, which protects the growing point.
• Basket or bowl: For collecting leaves.
• Produce bags: Refrigerate unwashed leaves for up to a week.

Tip: Pick the lower leaves first and let the palm-like crown keep growing. Leaves sweeten noticeably after the first frost.

Light:

• Prefers full sun, tolerates part shade.

Soil:

• Rich, well-drained loam, pH 6.0-7.5, with compost worked in before planting.

Watering:

• Requires regular, even moisture, about 1 inch per week.
• Mulch helps hold moisture and keeps soil cool.

Temperature & Climate:

• Cool-season crop that grows well at 55-75°F.
• Very hardy; tolerates frost well, and flavor sweetens after cold weather.

Fertilization:

• Kale is a heavy feeder; work in compost at planting and side-dress with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer mid-season.

Thinning:

• Thin or space plants to 12-18 inches apart; thinnings are edible as baby greens.

Mulching:

• Apply mulch to keep soil cool and moist, and to suppress weeds.

Pest Protection:

• Cover with floating row cover from planting to exclude cabbage moths and flea beetles.

Watering:

• Keep soil evenly moist; avoid overhead watering late in the day.

Harvesting:

• Pick the lower leaves first, leaving the growing point so the plant keeps producing.
• Harvest after frost for the sweetest flavor.

Storing:

• Store unwashed leaves in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a week, or blanch and freeze for longer.

• Expecting a spring-only crop: leaves sweeten after frost, so a midsummer sowing for fall harvest is worth planning
• Letting cabbage moths in: cover young plants with row cover early
• Harvesting from the top: take the lower leaves and leave the growing point so the plant keeps producing

1. Culinary Applications:

• Raw in salads after massaging with oil and salt
• Braised or sauteed with garlic
• Baked into crisp kale chips
• Added to soups and beans, where the sturdy leaves hold their texture

2. Nutritional Benefits:

• Rich in vitamin C and folate
• Fiber and potassium in typical kale ranges
• Low in calories relative to its nutrient density

3. Garden Uses:

• Blue-black, savoyed leaves that look good in an ornamental bed
• Very cold hardy, so harvest continues into winter
• Climbing palm-like crown adds height to a vegetable bed

4. Practical Benefits:

• Cut-and-come-again harvest from the lower leaves
• Sweetens after frost, which extends the useful season
• Worth planning for: row cover against cabbage moths

• Leaves: The primary edible part: blue-black, savoyed leaves used raw in salads after massaging with oil and salt, or braised, sauteed, and baked into chips.
• Young leaves: Baby leaves from thinning are tender enough for salads.
• Flower shoots: If plants overwinter and flower, the tender shoots are edible like broccoli raab.

Kale, raw, per 100g (USDA reference value for kale; USDA's newer Foundation data list somewhat lower values for some nutrients)

Calories: 49 kcal

• Carbohydrates: 8.75 g
• Protein: 4.28 g
• Total fat: 0.93 g
• Dietary fiber: 3.6 g
• Vitamin C: 120 mg (133% RDA)
• Folates: 141 µg (35% RDA)
• Potassium: 491 mg
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

Good companions

• Onions, garlic: the scent may help deter some brassica pests
• Beets, celery: low competition for space and nutrients
• Sage, thyme, rosemary, dill: aromatic herbs may help confuse cabbage moths and attract beneficial insects

Poor companions / avoid

• Other brassicas: share the same pests and clubroot pressure, so problems build up
• Strawberries: reported to compete with kale

• Cabbage worms and loopers: green caterpillars that chew holes in leaves; handpick, cover with row cover, or treat with Bt
• Aphids: cluster in leaf folds and curls, especially on crinkled types; strong water spray or insecticidal soap
• Flea beetles: tiny shot-holes in young leaves; row cover prevents most damage

• Black rot: yellow V-shaped lesions from leaf edges; use clean seed, rotate crops, and avoid overhead watering
• Downy mildew: yellow patches with gray fuzz underneath in cool, damp weather; improve airflow
• Clubroot: swollen, distorted roots in acidic soil; keep pH near neutral and rotate away from brassicas for several years

Sow in early spring or midsummer in rich, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart, water evenly, and harvest the lower leaves as the plant climbs.

A lacinato kale, also called Tuscan, dinosaur, or cavolo nero. The leaves are long, blue-black, and savoyed, and it is an improved selection that is more uniform and slower to bolt than the older Nero di Toscana.

Sow in early spring and again in midsummer for a fall and winter crop. Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost or direct sow 2 to 4 weeks before.

Yes. Cold weather pushes the plant to convert starches to sugars, so leaves taste noticeably sweeter after the first frost.

Strip the stems, slice the leaves thin, and massage them with a little oil and salt to soften them for salads.

Vacuum-sealed Shido Seeds packets stay viable for up to 10 years when stored properly, compared to roughly one year for a standard paper seed packet. Storing unused packets somewhere cool and dry helps preserve that extended shelf life.

Roughly 65 to 80 days from sowing, though baby leaves can be picked sooner.

Yes. Every Shido Seeds packet, Black Magic included, is germination-tested at independent third-party labs before it ever reaches a shelf.