Scarlet 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: Harvest from the bottom up and leave the crown. Color and flavor peak after the first frosts, so the fall crop is the one to wait for.

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:

• Harvest the lower leaves first, leaving the crown so the plant keeps producing.
• Wait for the first frosts for the deepest color and sweetest flavor.

Storing:

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

• Judging color too early: leaves deepen from green-purple to true red as nights cool, so the color peaks in fall
• Aphids in the curls: tightly frilled leaves hide aphids; check folds and rinse well
• Letting cabbage moths in: cover young plants with row cover early

1. Culinary Applications:

• Young leaves in salads, where the red-purple color stands out
• Braised or sauteed with garlic
• Baked into crisp kale chips
• Added to soups and stews

2. Nutritional Benefits:

• Rich in vitamin C and folate
• Fiber and potassium in typical kale ranges
• Red-purple color reflects pigment-rich leaves

3. Garden Uses:

• Tightly frilled red-purple leaves suit ornamental borders and containers
• Hardy well below freezing, so harvest continues into winter
• Color deepens as nights cool

4. Practical Benefits:

• Cut-and-come-again harvest from the bottom up
• Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved with isolation
• Worth planning for: row cover against cabbage moths

• Leaves: The primary edible part: tightly frilled, red-purple leaves. Young leaves are tender enough for salads; older leaves suit braising and kale chips.
• 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 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 from the bottom up.

An open-pollinated red curly kale in the Redbor style, with tightly frilled, red-purple leaves.

Very. It is hardy well below freezing, and the leaves taste sweeter and show deeper color after the first frosts.

Roughly 55 to 70 days from sowing, though baby leaves can be picked sooner.

Young leaves make a striking salad. Older leaves are better braised or baked into chips.

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.

Yes, since it is open-pollinated, though kale is a biennial that flowers in its second year and crosses easily with other brassicas, so isolation is needed to keep seed true.

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