Gardening is a fun hobby that lets people grow different types of plants in their gardens to make them look attractive. Though, you will notice the activity often getting combined with cooking. This is because the quality of ingredients being used in your dishes plays a huge role in how they will taste. Usually, when buying vegetables, there are not a lot of options available in stores. You have to select the quality depending on what the store has in stock.
However, if you decide to plant the vegetable in your home instead then you can easily control how it grows. Talking this, kale is among some of the most popular green vegetables that people enjoy growing in their gardens. This comes with tons of medicinal properties which makes it great but there are also some problems that you should be familiar with. A common question that tons of users ask is “Does kale bolt?”. We will be using this article to provide you with information regarding this query as well as tips that you should keep in mind.
Does Kale Bolt?
Bolting is the term used to refer to plants that are about to seed. This happens when the plant is ready to reproduce and starts forming small buds on its stems. These will then eventually blossom into flowers which help the plant in making new seeds. Now that you are familiar with the term, people should note that kale does in fact bolt. The perennial plant starts forming small buds that help it in making new seeds. This is a great way of extracting new seeds that can then be later on used to plant new kale.
Now that you understand this, the question “how and when does this vegetable bolt?” might come to your mind. When it comes to this, people should understand that kale only bolts when the temperatures around it get too warm. The high heat is required by the plant is forming new flowers and then keep them healthy. Although, you will also notice that the vegetable requires a high amount of sunlight to keep the leaves on it healthy. Hence some users might ask how they can prevent their vegetables from bolting.
Before you get into this, it is important to understand the positives and negatives of your kale bolting. The great thing about the process is that people can get new seeds as well as harvest edible flowers. Additionally, these taste a lot better when compared with the leaves on kale plants. However, the major downside to bolting is that the leaves on your kale will start getting stiff and bitter. Not only do these lose the sweet taste on them but the medicinal properties that the plant is harvested for are also lost.
Keeping the information provided above in mind, some people might be happy with the plant-forming flowers on them. Although, if you are annoyed by it then there is a small process that can be used to prevent it. As you already know vegetable-only bolts when it comes in contact with high heat. People can take steps to prevent this from ever happening. The first thing that you have to do is start planting your vegetable before spring arrives.
This helps in growing the kale leaves while the season is still late winter. If you do this, then you will notice that the taste of the vegetable is a lot sweeter. Moreover, as long as you keep the plant cold and harvest it regularly, no flowers will ever grow on it. Watering the vegetable every day is also important as it requires about 2 inches of water every week. This has to be implemented to prevent most issues that the leaves can run into.
One easy way to do this is by creating a small wall of mulch around the plant and then putting water inside it. The water will then constantly keep the roots cooled off, preventing them from forming new buds on them. Change the water after every few days as this can start to catch dangerous fungi or pests on it. As long as these steps are followed, people can prevent the kale plants from bolting. But if you are still getting the same problem then try moving the vegetable away from sunlight.