Organic Red Russian Kale

Organic Red Russian kale start

Red Russian kale is a certified-organic live transplant with blue-green leaves, deeply cut margins, and purple-red veins and stems. Young leaves are tender enough for salads, while mature foliage can be sautéed, braised, added to soups, or baked. The open form is ornamental as well as productive in cool-season beds and mixed edible plantings.

• Plant form: Live potted vegetable start in an approximately 2.75-inch pot
• Organic status: Certified organic by CCOF
• Crop type: Open-pollinated biennial commonly grown as an annual leafy vegetable
• Catalog zones: 2–11; local planting windows depend on frost and summer heat
• Estimated maturity: Approximately 50–65 days under suitable conditions
• Light: Full sun to partial sun
• Pollination: Not relevant when the crop is harvested for leaves

Growing and repeated harvest

Transplant into fertile, well-drained soil after gradually hardening the start to outdoor conditions. Water thoroughly after planting and keep the shallow root zone evenly moist. Mulch can reduce weeds and limit rapid moisture changes. Provide spacing for mature leaves and inspect the undersides for cabbage worms, aphids, and other brassica pests; use row cover early where appropriate.

Pick the lowest usable leaves first, leaving the central growing point intact so the plant can continue producing. Remove yellowed or damaged foliage and harvest before leaves become overly tough. Flavor, leaf color, and growth rate vary with temperature and light; cool conditions often deepen color. If the plant bolts in warm weather, leaf quality will decline.

Watch How to Grow Kale for practical care, or compare other vegetable and herb starts.