Care Of Potted Kale Plants Over Winter?

Question

Hi, As a long time gardener I am still learning…??‍? One thing I changed this year was to raise vegs in containers rather than in the garden soil. Bugs ate them up out there and I couldn’t control the problems. For a while this season, my kale and swiss chard did wonderful…until the worms found the kale and ate it up again! I tried DIY bug deterrents but they only chase the bugs away for a little while before they return. They loved my kale but, oddly enough, left my swiss chard pretty much alone. After the first light freeze I got the chard indoors, where it seems to be perking up. I will try harvesting this week and see what it tastes like. After reading that you really can grow vegs indoors during winter, I brought some of the smaller pots of kale indoors. At present, some of it is cut down to soil level while others still have their stalks with some leftover scrawny leaves. In order to rejuvenate these (I hope), should I cut all the kale down to soil level? And should I fertilize them or anything like that? If this works, I ought to consider only growing vegs indoors in winter, esp. the kind that bugs attack. We get some brutal winters here in zone 6 so no worries about bugs till spring… ?? Thank You

Answer 1

Once you cut the main shoot of kale down, it will likely start its process toward death. Plants that have a basal rosette tendency (usually having a single growing stalk, and growing from the tip of that stalk only) destroying that tip signals the end of the plants life.

I would advise starting new plants indoors from seed.

These articles will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/kale/growing-kale-in-pots.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/kale/harvesting-kale.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/projects/an-indoor-garden-how-to-diy-indoor-garden-room-ideas.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/indoor-organic-gardening.htm