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Vegetables · Leafy

Growing haakh

Brassica oleracea var. viridis · also called haak, hak saag, kaleKashmir's everyday leafy green, a loose-leaf kale picked leaf by leaf over a long season. The valley grows it twice a year, with the main crop raised in July and picked from October.

Central plateau: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.No published guide covers haakh here yet.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Broad green collard leaves laid side by side, showing differences in leaf shape
Photo: Ann Perry · PDM
Not suited here

Not a crop for this region

No published guide covers haakh here yet.

Where it grows nearest

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Not suited here

  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaNot suited hereArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratNot suited hereDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaNot suited here
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiNot suited hereGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNot suited hereNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratNot suited hereDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaNot suited hereSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduNot suited hereWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanNot suited hereEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Central plateauNot suited here
Temperate HimalayaMid-February to mid-March, under cover if frost is expectedJulyLate March to AprilAugustMay to JulyFrom October onwards
Cold desertNot suited here
Sub-tropical foothillsSeptember to early OctoberOctober to early NovemberDecember to March
North-west plainsNot suited here
Gangetic plainsNot suited here
North-east hills and valleysSeptember to early OctoberOctober to early NovemberDecember to March
Arid westNot suited here
Deccan plateauNot suited here
South interiorNot suited here
West coastNot suited here
East coastNot suited here

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1

    5.5 to 6.5

    Well-drained loam rich in organic matter

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun. Light shade is fine in warm weather and keeps the leaves tender.

  • Temperature1,2

    Grows best at 15 to 21 °C

    Takes hard frost.

    Monthly temperatures for the Central plateau aren't in the library yet.

Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Grows well with

Seed and the season's end

Saving seedNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep a few healthy, true-to-type plants over winter and let them flower in spring. Keep them well away from other cabbage-family crops in flower, or they will cross.

When the seed is ready

Pods turn yellow-brown and dry, and the seed inside turns dark.

Cleaning the seed

Cut the seed stalks as the pods dry, dry them in shade for a few days, then thresh and clean the seed.

Store dry seed in a sealed container in a cool, dark place. It keeps well for about three years.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Pull the old plants once they bolt and compost them. Burn or bury plants that showed black rot rather than composting them.

Rotation

Do not follow with another cabbage-family crop for two to three years. Peas, beans, onion or a summer cucurbit are good next crops.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 1Kales and collards: superfoods for health and wealth (Indian Horticulture, September to October 2026)ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar (Malik, Jabeen and others)Read the source

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