Lacinato Kale

Brassica oleracea 'Lacinato'

vegetable

Lacinato, also called dinosaur or Tuscan kale, is an Italian heirloom with long, narrow, deeply puckered blue-green leaves and a sweeter, more refined flavor than curly kale. A hardy cool-season brassica, it yields baby leaves in about 30 days and full leaves in 60 to 65 days, and like all kale it grows sweeter and more tender after frost.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Dill — Attracts parasitic wasps and ladybugs
• Sweet Alyssum — Brings in hoverflies that eat aphids
• Nasturtium — Aphid and cabbage-pest trap crop
• Onions — Scent helps mask the crop from pests

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Imported cabbage worm →

  Row cover to exclude butterflies; hand-pick; Bt if needed

• Aphids →

  Flowering companions draw hoverflies and lacewings; spray off colonies

• Flea beetles →

  Row cover seedlings; the shot-hole damage is mostly cosmetic on established plants

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest the outer leaves once they reach hand size, taking them from the bottom of the plant and leaving the central growing point to keep producing for months. Pick young leaves for salads or mature leaves for cooking, and harvest after a frost for the sweetest flavor.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, very low in calories yet extremely high in vitamins A, C, and K, with calcium, fiber, and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin that support eye health.