Alternative to kale?

[Marine Mom]

I am drinking a 'green lemonade' daily that is kale, apples, romaine, and lemon. Kale is the only thing that I am unable to find organic. I am asking our grocers to please order me some and will ask the two local health food stores also. I am very worried that I will defeat the purpose of detoxing using nonorganic kale as I am fairly sure it would rate high in pesticides. It will be a few months before we can plant our own, and I am thinking to go ahead and try it inside, but still....takes time.

So, is it a legitimate worry to use non-organic kale? I am going through a bunch a day. Is there an alternative? I tried organic spinach, but it comes by the leaf, not as a fresh bunch, and doesn't seem to produce as much green juice.

I'm thinking the kale must be some sort of alkaloid base and important for detoxing. We are considering making a trip to the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex but that is approx 300 miles and not practical for every week to load up on organic kale.

Thanks in advance!

Kris

[sport]

You should be rotating your greens. Using the same one every day is not the best thing for your diet.
Any green would do but I would try to include some that are lower in oxalic acid as well.

[Marine Mom]

THNX! I also plan on getting Alissa's book. the book I have is alright but I need a bit more information. I gotta do some reseach and see what is low in oxalic acid. Today I did celery, spinach, lemon, and apples. Ruined one lemon as I forgot to put the pitcher under the shoot.

Kris

[michigan roman]

- i get seeds from a texas place www.willhiteseed.com that sells a good type kale called RED RUSSIAN KALE , it grows fast and tastes good . not curly leafed like other kales so doesnt get as dirty from ground soil

- can grow wheat seed indoors anytime of year for great thing to add to juices , its like great detox stuff . i grow it in plastic dish pans with 4" soil , it grows VERY fast in less than a week ready for juicing . check out www.annwigmore.com for wheat grass and other good info . if thats not exact address just search ann wigmore

- there in texas you could build a grow frame on a southern wall of home with a glass or plastic top to grow kale / greens in . heat from home and sun helps warm it . dont know if itll go there now but at minimum a frame would get you a jump on growing season . and at willhite seeds you can get huge amounts of seed cheap so ide buy tons and just start gambling with them

- your juicing so ide check www.juicefeasting.com

[streetsurfer]

Driftless Organics and Harmony Valley are two organic growers in the driftless region (the terrain not scoured by glaciers in the last ice age) of SW Wisconsin. There are lots of organic growers in that area around Viroqua Wi. I don't know if it would be feasible for your grocer to order from that far away, but that is who our organic kale is usually from at our local Whole Foods stores.

You could have your own kale to cut within a few weeks if you plant enough. These are four weeks from planting seed. 3 wks @ 18 hours light, 1 @ 24. It's dwarf blue curled in a 6" pot for size reference.

[Lara]

Kale is the only thing that I am unable to find organic. I am asking our grocers to please order me some and will ask the two local health food stores also. I am very worried that I will defeat the purpose of detoxing using nonorganic kale as I am fairly sure it would rate high in pesticides.

Is there no Whole Foods nearby? I get my organic kale there all the time.

[Marine Mom]

No Whole Foods near. About 280 miles. I will try planting some. Great ideas. Still, is non organic not a good idea? I'd think not. It worries me.

[Marine Mom]

Nice! So, once you get the kale started are you able to harvest a few leaves and keep one plant going for awhile?

[streetsurfer]

Nice! So, once you get the kale started are you able to harvest a few leaves and keep one plant going for awhile?

This is my first try at kale, but that is my intent, and is the way I harvest the lettuces. I have six kale plants going, thinking that will be good for one to enjoy green smoothies daily.

Michigan Roman, how many kale plants do you keep going at a time, please? Would you say six will suffice?

[michigan roman]

ive never grown kale indoors , i just grow big beds of hundreds of plants outdoors . and the ones outdoors , curly type like your growing , grow 16" leafs that i know youd never grow indoors . indoor plants shall be way smaller and not last real long imo . youd have to grow way more then youve got going to have decent supply . what ide do is use cheap plastic dish pans with like 4" dirt like i do for wheat , use black ones because they dont look as dirty laying around with dirt smudges like white ones do . then ide order big amounts of seeds from the willhite place i linked , for like 5 dollars you can get tons of seeds . then sprinkle like a couple hundred seeds into each dish pan and cover with a quarter inch soil . itd prob take 30 days before the pans filled with like tightly packed 4" plants . then use heavy kitchen scissors to cut off handfulls at soil level to add to whatever . you can grow other micro greens this way such as sunflowers which are more sprouty / stemmy than leafy but taste excellent . so ide say surf around for growing micro greens info . and that willhite place has GREAT prices i know from experience of buyinh alot of seeds on line over past 15 years . you could get very cheap bloomsdale spinach seeds there , paris island romaine , etc . and on kale ide get the russian variety like previously stated because itll grow good close together because i pack it in in my garden

come spring ide get from willhite REDRUSSIANKALE/BLOOMSDALESPINACH/PARRISISLANDROMAINE in like $5 sizes , then make a bed of each for a great salad greens mixture

and i notice in pic your using store bought soil mix , ide get soil from someones garden to grow indoors in as its all about what the plants drawing in outta the soil = poor soil = less nutricious plant

maybe check out www.motherearthnews.com for micro greens growing methods , though obviously its just simple stuff . oh when growing indoors i leave a bucket outside to collect rain / snow for watering plants


EDIT - i had to edit as i put kale grew 16' instead of 16"

[RawKnitster]

I'm going to try growing kale next season. I have a friend that grows it. She assures me it is extremely easy. Like chard, it has a long life (7-8 months in my region). You cut the leaves off the bottom and let the top of the plant continue to grow. At the end of the season her plants were over 3 feet tall and looked like mini palm trees. :)

I'm surprised you can't find organic kale. It is so hardy! Most of the chain grocery stores I shop at have small organic produce sections, yet they only sell organic kale.

Definitely talk to the produce people at your store. If there is a demand for it, maybe they will bring it in. :)

[spicyfull]

Driftless Organics and Harmony Valley are two organic growers in the driftless region (the terrain not scoured by glaciers in the last ice age) of SW Wisconsin. There are lots of organic growers in that area around Viroqua Wi. I don't know if it would be feasible for your grocer to order from that far away, but that is who our organic kale is usually from at our local Whole Foods stores.

You could have your own kale to cut within a few weeks if you plant enough. These are four weeks from planting seed. 3 wks @ 18 hours light, 1 @ 24. It's dwarf blue curled in a 6" pot for size reference.

That's a Beautiful Plant......

[streetsurfer]

That's a Beautiful Plant......

Aw, thanks. I have to pass the credit on to it's Creator though. I am just tending it and helping it along, like a shepard would tend his flock. Plants are a passion of mine. I have a kale or indoor gardening thread elsewhere and will keep updates of their progress in there.

Thanks much Michigan Roman for the great tips. I am hooked on your idea of doing them as micro greens, and will try to get a big pack o seeds from wilhite asap. Actually this is a pretty good soil, fortified with ocean fish, crab and shrimp meal, worm casting, and kelp I think, then I doctor it a little more with bat guano, diatomacous earth, and maybe some other junk. That's not to say a good garden soil wouldn't do better. I understand brassicas consume a lot of nitrogen. I will be doing soil tests during the grow and adding nutrients if needed. In the warm season I would water with compost tea from my pile, but it is not cooked enough now to do that. So I make can guano tea once in a while. I am working hard each year as funds allow to build my garden soil up and maybe next year I will try using it indoors.

Yeah, I only have eight foot ceilings so I doubt I could grow 16' leaved plants.

Thanks Marine Mom for allowing us to discuss the home growing of Kale in your thread. To me it's been like an addiction since first having it in a green smoothie last August. I couldn't bear to think of being without it through the winter, not knowing if the stores here carried it all year. I sure hope you find an easy and close organic source for yours.

[Marine Mom]

Thanks Marine Mom for allowing us to discuss the home growing of Kale in your thread. To me it's been like an addiction since first having it in a green smoothie last August. I couldn't bear to think of being without it through the winter, not knowing if the stores here carried it all year. I sure hope you find an easy and close organic source for yours.

No problem, this has been very helpful. My husband and I talking about maybe getting one of those lights that are like sunlight, and putting it the garage. I didn't think about wheatgrass but told Ben (dh, who has been a champ with this...we watched Food Inc recently) that we need to look into an automatic sprouter like the tray style I saw recently, and start that. I plan on looking to Wilhite also. I am a farmer's granddaughter, and love plants. Just never grew much more than tomatoes and herbs. We are planning our square foot garden for spring.

I think around here they consider kale bird food and garnish for the meat/fish market. I have been pestering the fish market guy and buying all his kale every five days or so. Our organic sections just lack kale but I will keep asking...but I'd much prefer to plant my own.

Thanks for the input!

[Mnbordergirl]

I have a similar green lemonade recipe and I mine says that you can substitute celery or spinache for the kale