Urban Farm Hub

By Garrett Okrasinski

My collard greens have always been awkward. Ever since they sprouted they were either leggy, crooked or had small leaves. I have tried everything to straighten and fatten them up, but I eventually grew to love their “character”. They fed me throughout late summer and fall, tasting better as the frost came. My collards even lasted me through the winter and were a crown dish on Christmas Day. And when in a pinch, they were a great last minute harvest to bring to friend’s dinners that awed guests despite their petite leaves.

All that being said, they now need to go. I have been going back and forth on this for probably two to three months now debating, do I pull them or do I keep them?

My collards in the winter sun

In doing some research and talking to garden specialist at a local nursery, I was still on the fence. Things that came up included;

• Collards taste worse as they get older and become bitter (not mine)
• The need to create space in your garden
• Tending to them as they are constantly trying to seed
• Consideration of soil diseases and pests
• Loss of nutrients from the soil

Despite all these considerations, I found my own reasons for deciding to pull my beloved collard greens. I was concerned was about soil nutrients and soil diseases that may occur from not rotating crops and keeping my collards.   Additionally, even though my collard leaves never reached their expected large leaf size, over the winter my collards continue to get smaller and smaller. Each leaf started to look “funny” being either leathery or miss colored.

Final view after a heavy harvest

Finally, the straw the broke the camel’s back were holes from prolific cabbage moths and the small white eggs I found under the leaves. In my excitement and diligence in protecting my cabbages from the moths, I failed to protect my collards. The collards had always been so sturdy and low maintenance I accidentally neglected them. In a few weeks time, my neglect would turn into ravenous caterpillars. In order to protect my leafy greens, cabbage and soil while creating valuable space, out with the old and in with the new! Sad to see my collards go but maybe this year the new collards won’t be so awkward.