How to Grow Collards
Collards At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -15°C
Plant Family
Brassicaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Collards shrug off frost, so sow them about 3 weeks before your last spring frost, and again in midsummer for a fall crop. Sow 2 to 3 seeds 0.5 cm deep every 30 cm and cover lightly. They sprout in 5 to 10 days: keep the strongest seedling at each spot and snip off the others.
Collards are a big, loose-leaved cousin of kale that handle both summer heat and hard frost better than most greens. Pick the lower leaves and one planting keeps giving for months, and a touch of frost makes the leaves sweeter.
When To Start
First chance to plant
45 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
30 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Collards?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Collards Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Collards Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow collards outdoors now, they handle frost
3 weeks before your last frost· every year
Optional: start collards indoors in small cells
6 weeks before your last frost· every year· optional
Pick the lower collard leaves, they keep coming for months
55 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your collards seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Hello from your collards! Keep the soil moist so the leaves grow big and tender.
About 33 days after you plant it
Your collards should be ready to pick. Take the outer leaves and let the centre keep growing.
About 57 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your collards.
About 70 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Collards's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
30 cm
Plant Spacing
45 cm
Row Spacing
1
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
Yes: Tower.
Method: Tower.
Succession Planting
Yes.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–10 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow collards in full sun, at least 6 hours a day, though they cope with a little afternoon shade in hot summers.
- 2Mix plenty of compost into the soil before planting, since collards are hungry leafy plants.
- 3Water deeply about once a week so the soil stays evenly moist, and lay mulch around the plants to keep the roots cool.
- 4Feed with worm castings or compost tea every 3 to 4 weeks to keep new leaves coming.
- 5Cover the plants with row cover from the day you plant them, because small white butterflies lay eggs that hatch into green caterpillars.
- 6Look under the leaves often and pick off any caterpillars or eggs by hand.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~70
Days to Maturity
90 cm
Mature Height
60 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
90 days
When to Pick
Pick outer leaves regularly
How to Harvest
- 1Start picking about 55 days after sowing, once the lower leaves are 15 to 20 cm long.
- 2Snap or cut the lowest, biggest leaves off at the stem, a few at a time.
- 3Always leave the top bud and at least 5 or 6 leaves in the middle so the plant keeps growing.
- 4Keep picking from the bottom up, and the plant grows taller and keeps making new leaves until hard winter cold.
- 5Store the leaves unwashed in a bag in the fridge for up to a week.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Collards cross with cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi, since they are all the same kind of plant, so let only one of them flower within about 800 m. Collards make seed in their second year, so the plants must live through a winter: in cold places, cover them with a thick layer of straw or grow them in a sheltered spot. A single plant cannot pollinate itself well, so let at least 6 plants flower together, and remember hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true. Once most of the thin pods are dry and brown, pull the plants, hang them somewhere dry to finish, then crush the pods in a bag and pick out the round seeds. Store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry spot for about 5 years.
Seed Production
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