I have never grown kale indoors but if you are going to do so I would say it is only worth doing for microgreens. An outdoor kale plant can be three or four feet tall and almost as wide. Plus it cooks down a lot so you need a stack of it to get a reasonable portion of cooked vegetable.

That said it germinates incredibly easily and any seed would work, I'm sure. IMO Red Russian has a better flavour than the Borecoles but that's just my taste. No special medium would be required if you've found one that works for your other plants. It will not need as much heat as basil.

Thanks so much. I didn't specifically mention a type of kale because I was hoping for recommendations, so I appreciate that. I intend on using the kale for smoothies. I've always just used the type in the store, which seems to be a green "baby kale", although searching for "baby kale" seeds was, well, fruitless, lol.

Do you have any feelings on whether the red russian kale you mentioned would be good for smoothies?

I'm surprised to see just how many variations of kale there are.

Many gardeners in my zone 5 area overwinter kale outside. I had a large crop this year and will attempt to harvest as long as possible. The plants still look great despite the temperatures in the 20s last week. My favorite variety is Red Russian.

Can't help you with the smoothie question, I'm afraid. I've never made one. I just eat my greens rather than drinking them.

I like the Russian kale varieties as well as Nero Di Toscana best. I don't imagine indoors will work out well except for micro greens as Flora suggested. Kale does tolerate all but the most harsh winter weather here in western NY state. If you had a cold frame, you could probably grow kale all winter long. Something to think about for next season!

FataMorgana

Would you consider the Red Russian kale to be a micro-green? I'm hoping so, as those are the seeds I just purchased :-)

To be honest, unless you have a great deal of space available, I don't think it will be worth it to try to supply your own kale for green drinks. At least not for very long! I probably use two full cups of the greens (plus all of the other stuff) in each 'sludgie', as I call them.

I make one large drink a day in my NutriBullet...just one. I go through large bags of both chopped mature and mixed baby greens such as arugula, spinach, kale, etc., per week.

I do grow a fair amount of assorted leafy greens in my garden much of the year, but use most of that for salads , soups, and other fare. At peak production times I can harvest enough for fresh eating plus the morning drink, but not very often.

'Would you consider the Red Russian kale to be a micro-green?'

Micro greens aren't any specific variety. They are just any green vegetable grown and harvested before it is mature, so it doesn't really matter which ones you choose.

Microgreens are great in salads but once cooked or blended they disappear to almost nothing.

Obviously my climate is different but I harvest kale form outside all through the winter. This is a young Red Russian plant

And this is a young Winterbor. I find it stronger in taste and more fibrous then RR but nice for a change. Very hardy.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Really appreciate it.

I should have thought that the kale wouldn't grow fast enough indoors to support my smoothie habit :-) I've already got the seeds, so I'll plant them and see what happens anyway.

Just guessing,but I would imagine red Russian would still work for smoothies, though you may need more of it, since it's a thinner leaf. But as already stated, it may be tough to grow enough indoors for a daily habit.

If you're interested in micro greens, I was given this contraption that works really well for starting greens especially. 3-4 days to sprout, then cut when ready. I have grown lettuce up to small baby size before either eating or transferring to an earthbox to grow larger. All the trays means you can have several stages of seedlings. I have no idea whether micro greens would add enough flavor to a smoothie--DH likes sunflower or basil best for salads. Have used coir, seed starter mix, and reg potting soil with this, all with good results.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed starter tray

im doing a small hydroponic “Kratky” method that’s working great so far. Started from seed. We harvest a few leaves every few days in addition to micros.

That looks healthy and I'm sure its a fun project growing by that method for a few leaves in salads. But for my cooking purposes the amount shown in the picture, even if I picked every leaf of it, would only give enough for about a single portion. I generally bring home a large carrier bag of leaves from the allotment and that does for about four portions. This year I'm growing Thousand Head again. It's big and tender and very hardy. Much more production per plant than Red Russian or Nero di Toscana.

what is Thousand head? I assume a kale? thank you