Why Grow Crawford Collard?
Big, Beautiful Leaves Crawford Collards are a modern hybrid variety bred for vigorous growth and impressive leaf size. Crawford produces leaves that are noticeably larger than those of many traditional collard varieties, giving gardeners plenty to harvest from each plant. The broad green foliage makes this variety an excellent choice for anyone who loves traditional collard greens but wants the added performance and uniformity of a hybrid.
Large Harvests for Classic Southern Cooking Crawford Collards produce substantial leaves that are perfect for simmering, sautéing, or using in your favorite Southern-style greens recipes. The oversized foliage means fewer leaves are needed to make a big mess of collards, while regular harvesting encourages the plants to continue producing fresh growth. With its hybrid vigor, impressive leaf size, and productive growth habit, Crawford is an exciting choice for gardeners looking to get more from their cool-season collard patch.
Crawford Collard Growing Tips
• When to Plant Collard Greens
Collards are considered a "cool season" vegetable that grows best in the fall and early spring months. Although this variety will often make it well into the summer months without bolting, the best performance and production will come during the cooler months.
Collards can be directly sewn or transplanted in the backyard garden, although we prefer transplanting this variety. Plant seeds indoors or in a greenhouse 4-6 weeks before your intended in-ground planting date.
Collard transplants should be planted outdoors once they have a well-established root ball in their seed starting containers. Aim to put your transplants in the ground in the late summer months for a fall planting or in the late winter months for a spring planting.
Collards are extremely cold-tolerant and will grow well throughout the winter in the southern states. For gardeners in the middle or northern states, frost protection would be needed to grow them through the winter. Or you can opt for a late winter planting as temperatures are warming going into spring.
When transplanting collard plants, space them approximately 1' apart along rows or in your containers or raised beds. If directly sewing them into your garden, you can plant seeds a few inches apart and thin later. Some growers prefer to plant them thick and harvest as baby greens, while other growers prefer a full sized plant that will require 1' of space.
• How to Fertilize Collard Greens
It's always a good idea to apply some pre-plant fertilizer to the soil prior to planting collard transplants. We like to sprinkle a balanced, pre-plant fertilizer on our raised beds or along our rows prior to planting. This ensures the plants have the right nutrients to put down roots in their new soil.
Because collard plants are usually in your garden for several months (if not 7-8), they'll need repeated applications of fertilizer for solid production. We like to feed ours every 3-4 weeks with a liquid solution of AgroThrive General Purpose around the base of the plants.
• When to Harvest Collard Greens
Collard greens can be harvested whenever you'd like! Some gardeners like to harvest "baby collard greens" as soon as the leaves are as big as their hands, while others prefer to wait until the leaves get larger.
When harvesting, be sure to leave 3-4 leaves on the top of the plant so it can continue to grow. Harvest the lower leaves as the plant grows and leave the top leaves for continual production throughout the cool season.
