Plant record
Kale
Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
Kale is one of the first plants that makes the garden feel occupied again. Give it cool weather and it gives back confidence.
Garden timing
Start 4 to 8 weeks before last frost.
Direct sow from a month before last frost into early summer.
Transplant through the cool shoulder season.
Succession rhythm: about every 21 days.
Plant intelligence
Use one square per plant and watch neighbors as it matures.
foodsuccession
Lifecycle: annual
Habit: garden crop
Record score
82/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence97Brassica oleracea var. sabellica in Brassicaceae; 3 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness861 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth973 planting windows, 40F minimum soil, 1 caution.
Species and variety drill-down400 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness94Ready for 4 external lookup paths.
Species identity
This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
ScientificBrassica oleracea var. sabellicaFamilyBrassicaceaeLookup namesKale, Brassica oleracea var. sabellica, Brassica oleracea
Garden decision matrix
Square-foot fit1 per square
Season behaviorhardy
Care loadsteady water
Bed ecosystem rolefood, succession
Variety depth0 options
Companions
onion, dill, calendula, lettuce
Cautions
Watch cabbage worms as weather warms.
External enrichment
Cached name: Brassica oleracea var. sabellica. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.
Open enrichment JSONData layers
FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.
API source score
Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.
Michigan State University Extension
Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.
Source referenceCornell Vegetable Growing Guides
Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.
Source referenceUniversity of Minnesota Extension
Upper Midwest vegetable guidance, cold-climate timing, and succession ideas.
Source reference