Alabama Blue Collards

Sweet and tender heirloom collard from Alabama, with smaller leaves ranging from green to blue, with quite the variety of colors in the stems as well. Bear Bottom Farm has been selecting and growing those with the the most purple stems, and coincidentally finds those to be slower to go to flower as well! They are both cold and heat tolerant as far as collards go, and can be grown with closer spacing due to their smaller size. Even as the temperatures rise, and also when the leaves get large, they maintain their sweetness and tenderness and cook up real nice. This variety was introduced in 2015 by our collard-loving friends at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia from seedstock shared by Jean Mills.

Days to maturity: 75

Seeds per pack: 125

Germination rate: 84% on 10/07/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Either start indoors or direct sow. Sow seeds 1/4" deep in potting soil 4-8 weeks before the last frost, and transplant when plants have three true leaves spaced at 1-2' apart, as early as just before the last frost. If we are growing them in the Fall, we either transplant as mentioned above or we directly sow our seeds 1/4" deep every few inches, and cover with hoops and plastic row covers. Regularly harvest these delicious leaves when young and tender!

Seed keeping notes

Isolate by 1/2 mile from other flowering members of B. oleracea, including Collards, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts to avoid unwanted cross-pollination. Allow seed pods to turn brown and dry before seed harvest. Protect from birds.

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