Collards
Collards tolerate hot weather well, and yield heavily over a long harvest
season.
-Planting: Sew the seed any time during spring, with rows spaced about 2
feet apart. The plants should be thinned as they mature to at least 6
inches apart.
-Growing: Collards need plenty of moisture, which can be helped by
applying a 2-4 inch mulch around them as soon as they are several inches
high. Side dressing of nitrogen rich fertilizer every three or more weeks
will stimulate more growth. Due to the shallow nature of the root system,
hoeing is not advised. If cabbageworms attack, spray weekly with Bacillus
thuringiensis.
-Harvesting: Pick the outer leaves as they develop, leaving the inner
leaves for later harvesting. If all the leaves are not removed from one
plant, it will continue to produce new leaves. Pick the entire plant in
the fall, as collard cannot tolerate frost.
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