I have grown it with afternoon sun and it did quite well. I would think it would need to be planted later. Where I am nothing does well planted in the middle of summer except maybe okra. It taste better in cooler temperatures.

I have just planted out my kale. I'll be eating it from October until next April. I imagine that in z6 it would need to be planted out earlier than in Texas because it would be knocked down by the winter temperatures sooner.

I would not count on rabbits leaving the kale alone. The rabbits by me love to feast on kale. I planted some in a tall pot so I could have it in an area that isn't fenced. It isn't a great way to grow large amounts of kale, but it worked for the amount I wanted.

Fur rats vary from place to place, some like kale, some not. Here they do not eat it, or, rather, haven't eaten it yet. My Red Russian kale will overwinter and set seed for me from time to time, so you may be ok planting now and getting it to overwinter. I must say, however, when my rare "overwinterers" set seed in late July/August the vast majority of seed doesn't germinate until the following spring. As for the shade, some of mine grow in quite deep shade so you should be fine.

tj

Rabbits eat kale...but if there is something else in your garden they prefer, they go for that first, so it seems they leave kale alone, when in fact, they have just found something they like better.

As for sunlight, I always plant my kale in the shade of my pole beans so that it doesn't bolt. I get a great crop.

> As for sunlight, I always plant my kale in the shade of my pole beans so that it doesn't bolt. I get a great crop.

your kale plants must not be very big because kale likes full sun. it will grow in partial sun/shade, but the plants will be much smaller, including its leaves. maybe useful as small greens.. but 5-8 hours of sun will grow a kale plant 2-3 feet in diameter. at least that is how big mine gets.. i also have some in another area that only gets around 3 hours and it grows, but the plants are much much smaller.

also, Kale doesn't bolt as easy as say lettuce and generally stands up to heat much better. i grow Blue Dwarf Kale and it grows fine in 90 degree weather. im in zone 7a which is a lot more mild than your zone.

My leaves are quite large, larger than my hand when I spread my fingers. The plants, I'm not sure about size as compared to others because I am clipping the outer leaves every few days to harvest. My kale will go to seed in a heartbeat if left to it's own devices. I am always looking for the start of seed heads when I harvest and snip them regularly. I am not sure what variety it is, it has been in my garden for at least 10 years, and I have long ago lost the name. I let it go to seed every few years to save seed, otherwise I clip the seed stalks when they are quite small.

It is surprising how kale seems to behave differently in different areas. I have had Russian red kale grow for a couple of years and not bolt. I planted Dino Kale last fall and it still has not bolted. I did plant some kale about 4 to 6 weeks ago. No problem with bolting but the bugs have really been hitting them hard. Snails and white flies seem to be the worst, with some worms also. Our temperatures usually stays in the mid 90s in the summer with lows in the upper 70's to low 80's.

I'm growing dino kale and Red Russian kale...I have these under fine mesh cover because of cabbage worms. Thanks goodness I haven't had other critters nibbling in my vegetable garden.