Collards...I think

One of my new plots that I'm working this year had a bunch of volunteer cabbage-like seedlings come up.  I didn't plant them, so I can safely assume they are from the previous tenant's gardening efforts.  When small, they had jagged leaves rather than round, and though they leafed out well, I never had a central stalk or head form in the center of the leaves.  Slowly but surely as the summer crept on, I've become convinced that I don't have broccoli, cauliflower, head cabbage, or brussels sprouts.  As I look at the stem area, it's only strong enough to support the large leaves on long leaf stems.  No thick weight bearing stalk at all, just leaf over leaf.  Now, I'm fairly certain I have Collards, but think I've missed my opportunity for continuous harvest since I was waiting for them to mature into something they're not.  I've never grown them before, let alone harvest, prepare, or cook them.  I have eaten "Southern Greens" before & liked them a lot, but don't know the ratios of collards, mustard, or turnip greens I ate?  The Japanese beetles swarmed them before moving on to other things, so despite the swiss cheese look to some of the leaves, the plants are healthy.  

Now for the real question...how do I harvest seeds for future plantings from these?  Do they send up a central stalk eventually that will flower & then seed?  There are maybe 15 plants that I'd like to save seeds from.  I know there's a wild lettuce or mustard in the area, but I think they'll be done before this even goes to seed.  Anyone out there have experience with collards, recipes, step-by-step instructions?  TIA

Since getting a garden, I don't really have recipies. To get you sgarted with collards, they can be used in any recipe written for cabbage. I've even done coleslaw with it. It's just not as easy to slice thin though.

And yes, it will send up a center stalk and produce seeds similar to other cole crops. I do have a unknown kale variety that has toothed leaves and is tbicker than other kales I have grown. None of my collards had toothed edges, even as seedlings. No matter, I've used them as cole slaw as well. They worked, but lacked the crunch of cabbage and collads.

Here's some photos taken today.  I can't say for certain that they are pure collards because of the community garden situation, but so far there are no heads or thick stalks of any kind forming.

I'm also looking for ways to keep the bug pressure down. Mine got torn up last year even when covered with row cover.

Yup. Collards.

Joylynn,

Thanks for the ID confirmation.  Now to wait on seeds & look up how to make collard greens. I imagine when stewed down in that way the bug holes won't matter so much.

we eat our collards picking them as they grow - the nasty fleabitten leaves go to the rabbits and we pick them from the outside in, leaving the small leaves (at least 5). I use them for anything I'd use spinach or cabbage. If you slice them nice and thin and/or marinade/massage they make a nice salad raw too.

I have never eaten collards without cooking them.

Probably somewhere in the southern USA, collards are a big hit at restaurants.

There are many delicious ways to cook collard greens, but this is the way we do it in the South.

Traditionally, Southern collard greens are made with pork. In this recipe, chopped bacon is cooked until almost crisp, and the drippings are used to sauté chopped onions, which form the foundation of the dish with chopped smoked ham and garlic.

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/southern-collard-greens

With pork, I am assuming that means salt pork, that is the only way I have cooked mine.

This recipe is a little different from mine though it sounds interesting:

And the best part of cooked collard greens is the "Pot Liquor"!

Cy Cobb wrote:Now for the real question...how do I harvest seeds for future plantings from these?  Do they send up a central stalk eventually that will flower & then seed?

They'll eventually send up a stalk with pretty little yellow flowers which will eventually turn into a dried out stalk with a bunch of long skinny seed pods. Since it's getting a bit late in the year, they may not send up a stalk this year. Collards are cold hardy to around 5F (or lower) so just let them be over the winter and they'll probably produce flowers next year.

Daniel Vogel wrote:I'm also looking for ways to keep the bug pressure down. Mine got torn up last year even when covered with row cover.

We always spray a lime/water solution on leaves to repel bugs if there is a problem.   They don’t like calcium, but the plants love it.