When do you plant collard greens

Keeping the soil too soggy will cause the roots to rot, while allowing it to dry out will cause the leaves to wilt. Consistent watering is important; otherwise, the greens will develop a bitter flavor. Keep the garden weed free so that the collard greens aren't competing for nutrients or water.

If you notice spotted leaves, your plants may have a fungal infection. Treat the plants with a fungicide by following the package instructions. Home Guides Garden Gardening. Related Articles. Chop into pieces, as needed, for recipes. Start with the freshest greens you can find—about a handful per serving. Blanch the washed, trimmed greens in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, then immediately immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Drain thoroughly and place in freezer-safe storage containers, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Freeze immediately. Add remaining ingredients except lemon. Simmer over low heat, covered, until greens are tender. Squeeze lemon over top of greens and okra mixture just before serving.

Trim the ends off the stems of the greens and separate the leaves. Clean under running water and drain. Cut stems into 1-inch pieces, and cut the leaves into wide ribbons. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger. Add canola oil, sesame oil, and ginger to a cold pan and heat on medium-high heat. When the herbs become fragrant and just begin to turn brown, add the stems of the collards.

One minute later add the collard leaves and the shrimp. Toss well to coat with the oil, and cook until stems become tender and the shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes. Wash and cut collard greens. Add all ingredients to a large skillet with just enough water to cover. Be sure to pluck the pods before they split, spilling their seeds to the ground, and before the birds beat you to them! Break open the pods and store the seeds in a paper envelope or bag in a cool, dry place.

They should be viable for about four years. So you can still collect and plant the seeds, but they will not produce a harvest identical to that of the mother plant. This one is ready to harvest in about 80 days, and is slow to bolt. It produces long, wide, dark blue-green leaves in 68 to 75 days. You can get a one-ounce package of these seeds from Eden Brothers. It was discovered at Merritt College in Oakland, California, and all subsequent seedlings can be traced to a single mother plant.

It can grow to four to six feet tall. Get a small, live plant in a peat container from Project Tree Collard via Amazon. This variety has broad and thick blue-green leaves that regrow easily, with narrow stalks. Find a package of seeds, available from Burpee. Want more options? Unfortunately, collards are appealing not only to humans but also to a number of pests.

They are also susceptible to fungal diseases. If hungry deer are a big problem for you, you might want to read this article about building a deer fence next. As members of the Brassica family, which includes cabbage and broccoli, collards are susceptible to the same pests that bother other family members.

Many gardeners have luck with row covers to keep the plants from being bugged. Because, of course. Cabbage worms are any of several moth caterpillars that eat collards and other plants in the Brassica family. Cabbage loopers would fall in this category. If you prefer these hungry little beasts not annihilate your collard crop, check out this article with plenty of advice and tips for getting rid of the voracious vermin.

You can learn how to keep vile, slimy slugs off your collards with this guide. A few types of beetles, including flea, blister, and white-fringed, can pester collards. These colorful pests stuck fluids from plant parts, leaving behind little white dots, or stippling.

As the plant becomes increasingly ill, it will wilt, turn brown, and die. Insecticidal soap may be effective on harlequin bug nymphs, but as the insects mature, you may have to turn to spinosad, a natural pesticide that can be found online or at garden centers. You may have luck with neem oil, or, of course, you can also pluck harlequin bugs off by hand. Because how fun does that sound?! Thrips are tiny, slim, winged insects that suck fluids from plant leaves. Yellow specks on leaves may be a symptom of a thrip infestation.

You may also see black dots of frass — or thrip poop — on the leaves of your plants. Find more on identifying and combating thrips here. To treat, first sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the vegetable patch and on the leaves of the plants.

Then, try insecticidal soap or neem oil; these are particularly effective on the larval form of the pest. You can also hand-pick the bugs. Anthracnose Colletotrichum higginsianum , for example, presents as small gray or off-white spots on leaves. Alternaria Alternaria spp. Clubroot Plasmodiophora brassicae results in slow-growing, stunted plants. Leaves may be yellow and wilt during the day, reviving to a small degree during at night. Downy mildew Peronospora parasitica may be the problem if you see tan or yellow spots on the upper surface of leaves.

You will be able to harvest leaves from these plants throughout spring and into summer. As with all Brassicas, cabbage worms and aphids are attracted to collard greens, so check the leaves daily for pests and treat organically as needed.

As the temperatures cool off, the pest pressure will subside. Collard greens are a staple in Southern U. S cuisine, best known for being cooked with pork. Black-eyed peas represent luck, and paper money-colored collard greens represent wealth.

The collard greens are available fresh, growing throughout the South during winter, and the black-eyed peas that were harvested in late summer have been dried and stored for winter use.

Fall-planted collard greens are arriving at the farmers markets now; you can find some locally grown bunches there. Fowler has been gardening in Austin for nine years, and her favorite crops to grow are Brassicas, beans and peppers.