Kale is a biennial (2-year) plant, which means that it will produce leaves the first year, and then the next year (or sometimes late the first year), it will form a flower stalk. This stalk eventually forms flowers and then seeds; once the seeds mature, the plant dies shortly after. The act of forming that tall, central flower stalk is called bolting. Sometimes the bolting response in a plant can also be caused by other factors, such as temperature or stress. If your kale plant is bolting, and it is the second year, then the plant will not last much after the seeds form—you may want to pull it up and start over, unless you plan to collect seed (though if the kale is a hybrid, the offspring may not be similar to the parents). Once kale bolts, the leaves take on a stronger flavor, at which point harvesting usually stops. Hope this helps!
Kale is a biennial (2-year) plant, which means that it will produce leaves the first year, and then the next year (or sometimes late the first year), it will form a flower stalk. This stalk eventually forms flowers and then seeds; once the seeds mature, the plant dies shortly after. The act of forming that tall, central flower stalk is called bolting. Sometimes the bolting response in a plant can also be caused by other factors, such as temperature or stress. If your kale plant is bolting, and it is the second year, then the plant will not last much after the seeds form—you may want to pull it up and start over, unless you plan to collect seed (though if the kale is a hybrid, the offspring may not be similar to the parents). Once kale bolts, the leaves take on a stronger flavor, at which point harvesting usually stops. Hope this helps!