Divisi
When to plant Kale in Sembe
Sangha, Congo
Rape, covo and kale are the everyday leafy greens of the African plot — the relish in the pot most nights.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 24 May 2027 – 16 Aug 2027 opens in 34 weeks | 22 Mar 2027 – 20 Jul 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 27.3 t/ha | about 38.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 21 Sep 2027 to 12 Feb 2028, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 120–180 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 100–222 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 19 Jul 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Sembe leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 16 Aug 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Sembe
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 60% |
For kale in Sembe, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2026 season in Sembe
| When the rains are expected | January 2026 to January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 1,320 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry. Plant at the early end of the window and favour quicker, more drought-tolerant crops. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.4 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 16 September 2026
Sloping ground holds back about 20% of yield here.
What kale needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam, loam or clay loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 5.5 and 6.8 |
| Spacing | 45 cm between rows, 45 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, potassium, calcium, sulphur, boron and molybdenum |
What it takes to grow kale in Sembe
| Planting material | About 60,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 123 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 27 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 164 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 100–222 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a kale crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Kale with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Sembe as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Kale in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will kale grow well in Sembe?
Sembe rates as favourable for kale.
When should I plant kale in Sembe?
Typically 24 May 2027 to 16 Aug 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Sembe, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
