[hubballi]

My curly and Italian Kales are still producing small leaves and haven't grown very big. What should I give them to help them produce more over Winter ? Same with Chard.

[JayG]

Outdoor crops don't grow strongly at this time of year in this country, despite the mild autumn we are having.

If you know your soil is poor then a bit of general purpose fertiliser would be OK, otherwise I think it's rather a waste of money at this time of year (and don't be tempted to use a high nitrogen fertiliser to boost leaf growth - you will encourage soft growth which will be much more prone to frost damage.)

[Fisherman]

Sometimes the seed suppliers sowing range is a little optimistic and if you sow towards the end of the range the plants don't have time to grow to decent size before autumn when they stop growing. With Italian Kale I even sow it before the recommended time which on my packet from Marshalls says August - September. Its an old packet so this may have since changed.

[hubballi]

I sowed mine in April ! What about blood fish and bone ?

[viettaclark]

I've got some plants sown in spring that are producing and about 2 foot high. Sowed some more a couple of months later and they're only 8" or so. May have to wait till growth in Spring I suppose?

[sunshineband]

I've got some plants sown in spring that are producing and about 2 foot high. Sowed some more a couple of months later and they're only 8" or so. May have to wait till growth in Spring I suppose?

I think the very dry spell is to blame for that.

I reckon come the spring these littlees will romp away though 

[hubballi]

What if I give them some liquid chicken manure before the cold weather sets in ?

[Ice]

What if I give them some liquid chicken manure before the cold weather sets in ?

See reply number 1 from JayG. 

[Nikkithefoot]

This may be a daft question but........................are they in pots or open ground?

I only ask as I have dwarf and full size kale in open ground which are growing as expected. The dwarf varieties being about 18" to 2ft tall and the normal varieties about 3-3.5 ft tall.

I also have some kale that didn't quite make it to the plot still  in pots. They were transplanted into the pots from seedlings to grow on as I didn't have space at the plot back in the early summer. Those in pots are still only about 8" tall and have never grown bigger, a sort of bonsai effect IYSWIM.

[hubballi]

Open ground and they are still small.