Collards, Champion

Champion collards produce large, blue-green leaves that get sweeter and more tender after frost—they're a fall garden superstar. This heat-tolerant variety also handles summer growing better than kale, giving you nutritious greens when other brassicas have given up.

Collards: Collards are the reliable southern garden classic, a heat-tolerant, cold-hardy brassica producing large, nutritious, blue-green leaves continuously for months. Unlike most greens, their flavor actually improves after frost sweetens their sturdy texture, delivering a characteristic smoky-mineral flavor ideal for traditional cooking or eating raw when young. As one of the most dependable vegetables, a single planting yields continuously from spring through fall, providing superior calcium and vitamin content compared to kale.

• Growing Tips: Transplant 4 weeks before last frost for spring or midsummer for fall crop, spacing 18-24 inches apart; exceptional cold hardiness.

• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade (5-6 hours minimum); tolerates light shade better than most brassicas.

• Preferred Soil: Rich, well-drained soil with consistent moisture; benefits from regular fertilization and compost; highly adaptable to clay/poor soil; pH 6.0-7.0.

• Harvest Details: Begin harvesting lowest leaves when 10-12 inches long, taking 2-4 leaves per plant and allowing the plant to continue producing from the top; flavor improves dramatically post-frost; plants produce continuously for months.