CyberSalad: Garden Pursuits: Vegetables: Collards

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Brassica oleracea acephala

Collards are generally thought of as vegetables of the Deep South because they are so popular there, but they can also be raised elsewhere. They look like cabbages, each collard plant having a rosette of handsome blue-green leaves, but as the plant matures, it does not form a head of tightly compressed leaves as cabbages do; instead, it's stems elongate, almost in a treelike fashion, eventually reaching 2 to 4 feet in height. Since each leaf is fully exposed to the sun, it becomes a deep green; it contains more of vitamins A and C than cabbage leaves do, although the taste is similar to but richer than that of cabbage. The leaves are eaten raw in salads or as a cooked vegetable. Collards are also more resistant to heat and cold than cabbages (light frost enhances their flavor).
Collards grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. To reduce the risk of cabbage diseases, seeds should not be sown where other collards, cabbages, or any other cabbage relatives have grown within the past three years. In most of the U.S. and southern Canada, where frost is expected in winter, sow seeds in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, for harvesting throughout summer and fall. In regions where winter temperatures rarely drop below 25 degrees, sow seeds in late summer or early fall for harvesting throughout the winter and spring. Space plants 3 feet apart. Fertilize every three to four weeks, scattering a 12-inch band of 10-10-10 fertilizer along each side of the row at the rate of 8 ounces per 10 feet of row. Collard roots lie close to the surface of the soil and are easily damaged by cultivation. If it becomes necessary to cultivate, penetrate the soil no deeper than 1 inch. Collards mature fully about three months after seeds are sown, but leaves can be eaten from plants that are only two months old. When picking the leaves, do not disturb the central bud, since the plant continues to send out more and more leaves as the stem grows taller.

'Georgia', Vigorous, non-heading 30 to 36-inch plants produce tender, delicious greens. Dark blue-green stemmed plants form a large, open head of leaves high in vitamins A, B1, B2, and C. Particularly valuable in the south for winter greens. 75-80 days to maturity.

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Site launched January 1, 2000.
Site updated September 1, 2007.