Collard greens (brassica oleracea) are a favorite southern cooking green. You don't have to live in the southern states to grow collards,though. Greens can be grown in the spring and summer but autumn is really the best time for growing collard greens because the cool weather enhances their taste.

The methods for growing collards depend on how you plan to use them. Even though the traditional use for collards is as a cooking green when you pick young leaves they make an excellent salad green. When picked after a frost they will taste sweet and won't have the bitterness of greens harvested in warm weather .

Collard greens are really just a non-heading form of cabbage and their requirements for good growth are the same.  All cabbage family members prefer a rich,moist loamy soil. They will grow fine in most heavy clay soils if you amend with plenty of compost.

 Collards  are heavy nitrogen feeders and will need to be fertilized several times during the season.
All brassicas need to be watered during dry periods. They will not tolerate being too dry so plan on giving your greens a good deep watering once a week if you don't have at least an inch of rain.

Note to Northern gardeners: If you live in a climate that is just too harsh to grow plants over the winter collard seeds can easily be sown in the early spring and harvested before hot weather sets in. Many northern gardeners are more accustomed to growing kale which is a closely related plant. The taste of the two plants is virtually identical and their requirements are the same so if you've grown kale before grow your collards the same way leaving more space between the plants as collard plants grow much larger than kale.

Starting Your Collard Greens
You can sometimes find collard sets at garden centers this time of year but the seeds germinate in about a week so starting collards from seeds is a more economical choice. Sow the seeds thickly and thin them to six inches apart when the plants have two sets of true leaves.Continue to thin the plants as they grow until the plants are 18 inches to 2 feet apart. Yes,you can eat the thinned plants in salads or in a stir fry.

You can sow collard green seeds directly in the garden but if the weather is wet the seedlings will be prone to damp-off, a fungal disease that causes seedlings to wither away at the soil line.If this has been a problem in your garden you can start the seeds in a flat in a cool room indoors and then transplant them outdoors when they are about two inches tall.

Pest Control For Collard Greens
Collards are usually hardier than heading cabbages but the plants are suscetible to some of the same pest problems. The warm days of late September and early October can bring out  flea beetles which can devastate young seedlings. If you see damage on your plants that resembles lots of tiny shotgun holes these tiny black beetles are probably the culprit.The damage is mostly dangerous for seedlings;older plants can usually survive thedamage with no problems.

Another pest you may have to contend with especially in warmer weather is cabbage loopers, also known as inchworms. These tiny caterpillars can devestate your brassicas if the infestation is severe. If you see the worms or their damage on your plants you'll need to go on a search and destroy mission. Hand picking is the best method to eradicate these little worms.

Overwintering plants can be subject to damage from slugs and snails. If you see large ragged holes in your plants during cool wet weather these mollusks are usually to blame.One tried and true method for controlling snails and slugs is to set small containers of beer around to trap them.

I like to use a margarine container with an inch or two of beer to trap slugs. I recommend putting the lid back on and punching a few holes in the top to keep the beer away from pets and wild animals. The last thing you want is to wake up and find that  raccoons or rodents have destroyed your garden in a drunken overnight raid.

If you prefer not to use beer You can use a slug bait that contains iron phosphate. These baits are effective and aren't harmful to birds and other wildlife.

Harvesting Your Collards
Collard greens will reach full maturity from seed in about 80 days but you can begin harvesting the leaves in about three weeks and whole young plants can be harvested at about 40 days growth.

Collards are perfect for a "come and cut again" treatment. Harvest the outer leaves whenever you want a few leaves for a salad or stir fry making sure to leave the central bud intact. You can  pick plenty of tender leaves all season long if you grow collards this way.

The older leaves are tough and fibrous and will have to have the central stems removed before they are edible. When harvesting whole mature plants you may want to discard the outermost leaves.

If you want to pick a "mess of greens" (that means a lot) for your traditional New Year's black eyed pea and greens dinner,you can either let a couple of plants mature to full size or you can harvest a few younger plants and freeze them for future use.

If you decide to let your collard plants grow to full size they will get really huge when the days start getting longer in late winter and early spring.The popular variety "Georgia" will start to grow a tall central stalk that may grow to 4-6 feet tall in the spring.

If you don't  harvest the plants  they will begin to produce the typical yellow cabbage flowers.  Although they look interesting at this stage the taste of the leaves will start to become bitter so it's really better to harvest the plants well before they start blooming.If allowed to bloom collards will reseed themselves and could become weeds.

Collard Greens Are Nutritious And Easy To Grow
Many people are starting gardens in these tough economic times to save money but the gretest benefit is being able to harvest fresh healthy food whenever you need it.Growing collard greens is relatively easy even for the beginning gardener and just a few plants will provide you with nutritious greens for cooking or salads for many months.