Broadly, collard greens symbolize Southern culture and African-American culture and identity. For example, jazz composer and pianist, Thelonious Monk, sported a collard leaf in his lapel to represent his African-American heritage.

USES

Collard greens are synonymous with slow cooking and simmering in a pot with ham hocks. The broth created after about 90 minutes of simmering is known as pot liquor and it is equal parts vitamin rich, smoky and delicious. This ages old application is a benchmark for cooking Collard greens but there are many other ways to enjoy the greens. A quick braise or blanch allows for full nutritional retention and maximum flavor. They can also be added to baked dishes as well. Though many may say the bitterness is off-putting when eaten raw, Collard greens can add flavor and texture to salad mixes. Complimentary ingredients include garlic, pork, chicken, grilled steak,, mushrooms, potatoes, apple cider vinegar, lemon, bay leaves, bacon fat, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, tomatoes and chiles.

Here is a list of 12 recipes for using collards.

PRESERVATION

Collards are best preserved frozen: first water blanch (boil for 3 minutes) then cool off under sink in a colander. Seal results in plastic bag and place into freezer.

GROWING

SEASON & PLANTING
This is a cool season crop that you can start planting from seed as early as August or September. Plant starts are usually available starting in September or October (depending on the weather of the year) and can be planted throughout the cool season, into spring. Collards can sometimes make it through summer in a well-amended and watered garden but will be buggy in the summer. They usually bounce back when the weather cools down again in the following fall season.

SOIL & NUTRITION
Plant in well-amended garden soil. Feed throughout the season with a general purpose organic fertilizer.

TEMPERATURE & SUN EXPOSURE
Plant in full to part sun. Collards not only tolerate the cold weather we have in winter, but thrive on the cold temps. The flavor improveds with frost. We do not see the kind of cold, sustained temperatures that can damage collards.

WATER
Provide steady, regular water, as usually found in a garden bed.

HARVESTING
Pick the outer/lower leaves first, as the plant grows. Or grow into a large open head that you harvest all at once. Most people use collards as they grow it, picking only the outer leaves as they need, ensuring a constant supply of fresh greens.

WILDLIFE
With warmer weather, noctuid moth larvae may eat holes in the leaves, which is purely cosmetic damage.

INVASIVENESS
Collards do not seem to escape cultivation in our region.

VARIETIES
There are a large variety of collards out there. Here are just a few we have grown.

Champion Rich blue-green cabbage-like leaves. Plants are bolt resistant, productive and hardy. Waxy leaf surface provides some natural protection from cabbage worms.

Ellen Felton Dark This heirloom collard dates to at least 1935 and produces green, elliptical, tender leaves with a sweet, slightly fruity taste. The plants measure 15-22" tall by 22-35" wide and fare well in low temperatures.

Georgia This is an all time favorite, traditional, heirloom variety, introduced before 1880. Large plants produce great big, tender, mild-flavored leaves. Plants can grow up to 36" tall and are quite productive.

Morris Heading This open-pollinated variety produces, big waxy leaves that vary from green to blue-green. They have a mild cabbage-like flavor that will be in peak condition in cool weather. In mild climates collards will continue to grow all winter without disruption and can be harvested continually for months.

Old Timey Blue Donated to Seed Savers Exchange in 1989 by Ralph Blackwell of Alabama. Ralph's family grew this variety for over a hundred years and his mother used it to make a dish similar to sauerkraut. Plants grow to 2' tall with blue-green leaves and purple stems/veins.

Tiger Hybrid This is a Georgia-type of collard with an upright growth habit that makes for easy picking. Tiger Hybrid Collards has a high ratio of blade to stalk, and it's a cut-and-come-again type.

Vates This variety grows large, upright, and will reach about twenty-four inches tall producing dark-green leaves with a mild, cabbage-like flavor. It is bolt and frost resistant and the veins do not turn purple.