How to Grow Collard Greens

We love collards. Fresh southern collards that is. I think frozen or canned collards are barely edible and if that is the only way you have ever had them then you don't know what your missing.

I cook up a HUGE pot every Thanksgiving and Christmas as part of our holiday meal. And of course I put out some hot pepper vinegar to serve with them. One good thing about collards is that you can cook them the day before and put them in the refrigerator. They are actually better the next day.

Cooking collards is a bit of an art I think. You have to add sugar if they were picked before a frost hit them and knowing how much is a bit tricky. We season with fried out fat back, sugar, salt and pepper.

Many years ago when I had a large garden, I grew collards. I planted seeds in the early fall and we picked the bottom leaves as they grew and when we needed them. (Don't let them get too big or they will be tough). Now I have a tiny yard and very little space for growing vegetables. Still I planted just a few collard plants this year. They should be sufficient for the two of us.

Collards greens are a nutritional powerhouse. They are loaded with disease-fighting beta-carotene and offer respectable amounts of vitamin C, calcium, and fiber. All this makes cooking greens a wise choice for your diet.

I found this blog post on How to Grow Collard Greens that I thought might be helpful to some of my readers. If you are thinking about a winter garden this would be a good vegetable to add. The writer talks about growing, harvesting, and storing collards and even what to do about pests.

Read more here...