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Brassica oleracea
Henpeck Collards is a beautiful brassica with lovely lacey leaves that are soft and tender through the heat of summer and very hardy in the rugged winter months. We are selecting our strain for overwintering in our zone 5. We have chosen from plants that survived uncovered in the field experiencing temperatures as low as -8 degrees F. The abilty to successfully overwinter is much desired because the grower can extend the harvest from their plants. You can enjoy lucious leaves throughout the summer and fall and after the winter, in early spring Henpeck will send out a flush of leaves and florets to greet you when the root cellar grows bare! We are continuing to select for robust open-air and out-of-doors overwintering quality.
Growing Instructions:
Sow indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost and transplant out 2-4 weeks before last frost. Alternatively, direct sow 4 weeks before last frost.
Space plants 10" apart.
Space rows 18" apart.
For optimal overwintering start 3 months before first frost in fall (early July in our zone 5). Spring sown plants will certainly overwinter but younger plants have a greater chance of making through a more severe winter with better resilience. Will readily overwinter without protection in zone 5. In colder growing zones you may want to get creative with some protective layers (think hay bales or remay). Shoots will sprout from overwintered stems. If stems die back, shoots will spring forth from the overwintered root.
Collards do better than other brassicas with less than adequate soil but it is best to treat it well. Add compost at time of planting. We also recommend a fall cover crop of peas or another annual legume to fix nitrogen for the upcoming spring planting.
Mulch with leaves, or whatever you have available, to hold moisture and suppress weeds. Make sure soil pH is between 5.8 and 7.0. If plants need a growing boost, water with nitrogen tea or compost tea a few times. If trace minerals are inadequate, sprinkle a small amount of woodash or azomite in each planting hole.
