Collards

Collards are members of the cabbage family…

Collards can withstand a greater range of temperature than most other vegetables grown in the South. If the temperature drops gradually for several days, collards can withstand temperatures as low as 15° degrees Fahrenheit.

Collard greens are low in calories and nutritious. They're also an important source of dietary fiber.

A member of the cabbage family, the collard forms a large rosette of leaves, rather than a head, as the edible portion.

Grows in a wide range of soils…

Collards will grow on a wide range of soils, but they grow best in well-drained soils where adequate moisture is provided by rainfall or irrigation. The plant is a heavy feeder, often growing two or three feet tall.

These varieties grow well in Georgia: Vates, Georgia and Morris Heading. A small packet, or 1¦16 ounce of seed, is enough to plant a row 100 feet long. Collards can be planted beginning in March and through the summer into fall, until about six to eight weeks before the first frost. Several days before you plan to plant, apply three to four pounds of a complete fertilizer such as 8-24-24 for each 100 feet of row.

Can be seeded or transplanted…

Collards can be seeded directly in the garden or transplanted from a plant bed. When seeding, plant the seed about one-fourth inch deep and about one inch apart. Seedlings should appear in about five days. When plants are six to eight inches tall, thin them to six, twelve or eighteen inches apart, depending upon how they will be harvested.

Side dress with ammo-nium nitrate about one month after transplanting. The proper rate for side dressing is one pound per 100 feet of row.

You can harvest collards in several ways. The entire young plant may be cut off at ground level. Or, you can cut only the top part of the mature plant. Or, the bottom leaves may be broken off the plant periodically, leaving the bud to produce more leaves.

Collards can be harvested 12 months of the year, but generally, the flavor improves as the weather becomes colder. The leaves stay tender and edible for several days after they reach maturity.

For more information on collards contact your local County Extension Office.