Collard Greens

Brassica oleracea var. viridis 'Georgia Southern'

vegetable

Georgia Southern is an 1880s heirloom collard, a hardy loose-leaf brassica that is a Southern staple, with large, smooth, blue-green leaves on tall plants with white stalks. More heat- and cold-tolerant than most cabbages, it crops over a long season and turns noticeably sweeter after frost.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Dill — Attracts parasitic wasps that hunt cabbage worms
• Nasturtium — Trap crop for aphids
• Onions — Scent helps mask the crop from pests
• Sweet Alyssum — Draws aphid-eating hoverflies

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Cabbage worms and loopers →

  Use row cover, handpick, and apply Bt if needed

• Aphids →

  Hose off colonies; encourage ladybugs with nearby flowers

• Flea beetles →

  Row cover young plants until established

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pick the lower, outer leaves cut-and-come-again once they reach hand size to keep the plant producing, or cut the whole plant at once. Mature plants withstand frosts and light freezes, which sweeten the flavor; leaves keep up to two weeks refrigerated.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Collards are a nutritional standout: a cooked cup delivers many times the daily value of vitamin K plus about a quarter of the daily calcium, along with large amounts of vitamins A and C, folate, and fiber, at under 50 calories.