Lacinato Kale

Lacinato kale, also called dinosaur kale, cavolo nero or Tuscan kale, carries long, strappy, deeply puckered blue-black leaves on an upright stem that slowly rises above the rest of the bed. It is the most architectural of the kales and holds its texture better in cooking than the curly types. Like all kales it sweetens dramatically after frost.

Sow indoors six weeks before last frost and set plants out 18 to 24 inches apart around the frost date, or sow directly; for the fall crop, which is the best one, sow in midsummer. It wants rich soil and steady moisture and is a heavier feeder than the Russian kales, so top-dress with compost midseason. Pick the lower leaves from the outside as you need them and the plant keeps growing from the top for months.

It overwinters through moderate cold under a mulch and flushes new growth in early spring before bolting; those spring leaves and the broccoli-like flower buds are the tenderest, sweetest harvest of the year. Cabbage white caterpillars and aphids are the pests; a row cover from planting keeps the butterflies off, and a hard spray of water handles the aphids. Deer and rabbits graze kale, so it belongs inside the fence.