Collard Greens, Sexy Mama

Brassica oleracea

These beauties are a work in progress, dancing between collards and kale in all the most delicious ways.

This beautiful mama collard green plant started my seed saving career, and for a decade since, I've been letting her promiscuously cross with overwintered kale to celebrate her superior cold-hardiness and voluptuous size but bring in some of the tenderness and crinkle of kale. A wild and wonderful work in progress! Open-pollinated.

Collard Greens have a long culinary history as described in this article by culinary historian Michael Twitty. They are native to Eurasia and traveled south to West and Central Africa sometime around the Middle Ages, where they became a popular food among Africans. There are stories of Collard Greens traveling to the U.S. from Germany, and possibly by way of African slaves. Collard Greens were one of the few foods they were allowed to cultivate for themselves on plantations. They have become a staple of Southern cuisine, but we in the North are a bit slower to catch up...cook them a bit longer than kale and they'll act similarly. I love how well they can hold their own in soups.

Seeds grown by Earthly Delights Farm in Boise, Idaho.

145 Seeds.

 Directions: Direct seed in spring or start indoors in early spring & transplant outside after 4-6 wks. For fall crop, seed indoors late May and transplant out quickly.