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Kale flowers in the second year
Is kale perennial?
Although kale is perennial, it is usually cultivated only once a year. Why this is and how you grow your kale perennial, you will learn in the following.
Kale is biennial
Kale is normally biennial. You can read about this on your seed pack. Often, however, it is only grown once a year. The reason is simple: Kale is very starchy in the warm season and therefore tastes bitter. Not until the cold season (not just frosty!) Does it produce less bitter, but still glucose, making it taste sweeter and milder. The harvest season starts in October and usually ends at the latest in February. Therefore, kale is virtually unusable from May to October and also takes away space that can be used for other plants.
Another problem is that kale belong to the Kreuzblütengewächsen, where, as with other starvation, a special crop rotation is observed. So the bed must recover for three years after growing any cabbage before you can grow cabbage again. Leave the cabbage for two years and you will "lose" a year in which you will almost never be able to use the cabbage anyway.
Harvest kale in the second winter
Kale is considered a biennial, but can only be harvested in the first winter. The following summer he will bloom and die afterwards, because as with all plants, kale is all about multiplying.
The blossom of the kale
But if you leave your kale in the bed over the summer, it will bloom a beautiful, rich yellow flower with the four petals typical of cruciferous vegetables. After flowering, the kale then forms seeds that you can pick up and use for sowing next year. But be careful: do not sow in the same place!