Dwarf Blue Curled Vates Kale

Where 'Vates' comes from

Curly 'Scotch' kale is an old Northern-European leaf-kale type (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group) grown for centuries. What makes this one specific is the strain: 'Vates' is an acronym for the Virginia Truck Experiment Station in Norfolk, Virginia, where a stabilized, dwarf, slow-to-bolt selection of Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch kale was developed and released around 1950 — the same station that gave us the well-known Vates collard.

It's an open-pollinated heirloom, usually shortened to just 'Vates' or 'Blue Scotch,' and it's still on the recommended-curly-kale lists at extensions like the University of Delaware and Mississippi State. In other words, this is the archetype of the frilly kale most people picture.

The classic curly leaf

Dwarf Blue Curled Vates is a low, compact plant — roughly 12 to 16 inches tall and about two feet across — that sits as a dense rosette rather than the tall column of a Winterbor. Its leaves are tightly, finely curled and ruffled at the margins, a blue-green color that holds up in both cold and heat and resists yellowing, on an upright-but-low habit that stands well even under light snow.

This is the exact frilly leaf you see as a grocery-store garnish, so it's instantly recognizable. The 'dwarf' in the name is real and worth noting: the compact plant yields less per plant than the tall curly types, so you plant more of them for the same volume of greens.

The catch: grit and hidden aphids

Those beautiful curls have a downside every curly-kale grower learns. First, they trap grit and soil deep in the ruffles, so every leaf needs a real soak-and-swish in a bowl of water — changing the water a few times — not a quick rinse.

Second, and worse, the curls hide cabbage aphids. These gray-green, waxy aphids colonize deep in the ruffles and leaf crevices where you can't see them until you cut a leaf open, and they're genuinely hard to remove: their waxy coating plus the leaf's own water-repellent (superhydrophobic) wax means water sheets right off. This isn't folklore — there's a peer-reviewed paper literally titled 'Why is it difficult to wash aphids off from superhydrophobic kale?' The practical fix is to submerge and swish leaves in cold (optionally lightly salted or vinegared) water so the aphids float off, scout the growing tips early, and use floating row cover from the start.

Growing Dwarf Blue Curled Vates

It's a cool-season biennial grown as an annual, and it shines as a fall crop: direct-sow or transplant in mid-to-late summer (roughly July to early August in much of the US) for fall and early-winter harvest sweetened by frost. For a spring crop, start seed indoors 4–6 weeks before the last frost and set plants out 2–3 weeks before it, or direct-sow around the last-frost window.

Give it full sun (a little afternoon shade helps in heat), rich well-drained soil, and steady moisture (about an inch a week). Space plants 12–18 inches apart. Harvest cut-and-come-again — take the older outer leaves and leave the central crown so it keeps producing for months. It's one of the most cold-hardy kales, shrugging off hard frost and light snow, and in milder zones it overwinters under mulch or row cover for an early-spring cut. Wait until after cold weather for the sweetest flavor.

What goes wrong — and the fixes

Cabbage aphids buried in the curls. Inspect and cut leaves open; submerge and swish in cold water so aphids float off, knock them down with a hard spray or insecticidal soap, encourage ladybugs and lacewings, and use floating row cover early.

Cabbage worms and loopers (green caterpillars, ragged holes, dark frass). Hand-pick, spray Bt, and exclude the moths with row cover. Flea beetles shot-hole young seedlings — cover transplants until established.

Bitter, tough leaves in warm weather. Grow it as a fall/cool crop and harvest after the first frosts; cook longer or massage for raw use. It's slow to bolt but not immune — lean on the fall crop. And rotate out of the cabbage family to dodge clubroot, black rot, and downy mildew in cool wet soil.

In the kitchen

This is the kale for the pot. The sturdy, ruffled leaf holds its shape and doesn't dissolve, so it's excellent in soups, stews, and braises — the classic pairing with garlic, beans, and smoked meat — and it makes great kale chips, since the curls catch and hold oil and seasoning.

You can absolutely eat it raw, but treat it accordingly: it needs oil and salt and a few minutes of real massaging to tenderize, because it's chewier than a Lacinato. It also blends into smoothies and juice, and as a very hardy green it carries a fall, winter, and overwintered early-spring harvest in mild zones. Whatever you do with it, soak it well first.