As the weather continues to cool, I bet many of you are starting to wonder what winter veges you should be planting. This year when you're selecting your tried and true broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts seedlings why not branch out and try one of the more interesting members of the brassica family - kale.

Of course many of you will already be experts at adding kale to your stir-frys and salads but I bet equally as many of you didn't even realise you could eat this vegetable often grown for animal feed.

So, next time you're down at your local supermarket or Bunnings store try something new and grab some Awapuni Nurseries kale seedlings to add to your winter garden vege mix. Alternatively, visit our online store and have them delivered direct to your door. If you're an old hand at nurturing the regular type of kale, be sure to check out our cavalo nero variety, which looks like a cross between cabbage and kale and is perfect for making tasty chips out of.

Before you get planting make sure you're growing your seedlings somewhere different to where you last grew any other members of the brassica family to prevent your plants getting club root. At Awapuni we use high quality seeds to grow our seedlings, which means our plants are more disease resistant that your average seeds or seedlings, but it always pays to be careful to ensure your hard work doesn't go to waste. Next, before you plant them dress the soil with some lime to sweeten it.

Then, once you've got your bed ready, plant each seedling around 15cm apart. Growing them quite close together in clumps, as opposed to rows, can create a quite nice visual affect. Which reminds me, don't feel restricted to planting your kale, or any other vegetables for that matter, just in your vege garden. Try growing them, alongside rainbow beet, calendulas and any edible plants you find attractive, the length of paths or in patterns as you would with flowers. As always, there are plenty of great ideas on the internet if you try searching the words 'edible landscape'.

In around six to 10 weeks your kale should be ready to harvest. Simply pick the individual leaves as you need them.

Lastly, to help prevent club root for next year, once you've harvested your brassicas, plant mustard seeds in the soil (while you rotate your crops). When the mustard has matured to around 10cm (when the leaves are soft), dig it into the soil. This will help get rid of any club root in the soil.