I have never grown collards before. I harvested outside leaves only, the biggest ones. Do you just cut them up and eat them raw?

Collards can be done either way. Many folks start harvesting the lower leaves and in February have a 4 foot stalk with tuft of leaves at the top. I prefer to cut the whole plant when it is ready. I usually grow cabbage collards which form a loose head. The center leaves are much more tender and tasty for me. I also prefer collards as a boiling green rather than raw.

I am boiling the small harvest from today. I added smoked bacon and sugar.

I will try some raw.

Yep, my collard plants are each about 3 feet across, and the lower leaves are more than a foot long. Can use them in salads or stir fry. Or thrown on pizza. Whatever. My daughter doesn't like them much fresh in salad, as their tang is somewhat strong, but wife and I do. Milder when cooked. They grow fast and it's frankly hard to keep up with them.

BTW, it has always puzzled me that collards have ended up being considered a "southern" vegetable. The plant is extraordinary hardy at low temperatures that are almost totally irrelevant in the south. I think it used to be denigrated as cheap or degenerate cabbage. It could be that collards also happen to be tolerant of temperatures somewhat higher than most lettuce or cabbages. It used to be marketed largely in the south, but is now available in markets across the country. Very high in nutritional value. Definitely an underused and underappreciated vegetable.

Looking good Janet, glad to see you're harvesting stuff. I've been busy myself. I harvested lots of tomatoes, got my first brocolli answer will cut collards soon.

My brocolli

Plus I have all my starts growing inside

Looking good Kevin. That is quite a broccoli. My broccoli is running late, finally see some little seed heads forming.

You have serious new starts and look at that grow light. That looks like a serious light. The short sunlight days have not slowed you down one bit.

Santa is bringing me tomato seeds. I will be starting new plants soon.

Dan, sometimes the twang in some of those brassicas gets to me. Adding to pizza should work though. 15 min at 375 should calm them down.

Where I am now they call Arugula "rocket". My family grew and ate collards, but there was no rocket. They also grew cabbage. Most of it got boiled, some cabbage wound up in the slaw. I do not recall the collards being preserved. I do recall the wide variety of "greens'' though. Nothing went to waste. Turnip, mustard, and Polk(grew on the side of the road I believe.).

Yes, Janice. Raw collards can be "twangy". I like salads that bite back a bit, though. Arugula does have it's own oomph, however. Hardly a delicate green. I believe young collard leaves are milder, and I think the same is true for arugula. When I first grew collards, we fried 'em up like everyone else does. But then we realized that they were a marvelous addition to many dishes. If you harvest the whole plant, you'd better have an army to feed.

Nothing growing in my garden anymore except for the stuff like garlic and bunching onions that overwinter. I pulled the last 2 Brussels Sprouts on Saturday because we were forecast for -2 on Sunday morning. It actually got down to -12 at my house. Brrrrrr! I hung the BS in the garage and we will have them with Christmas dinner. I will be starting onions from seed on New Years day so the gardening cycle starts anew.

I think the experience of overcooked collards with way too much fatback might have something to do with their lack of popularity,

It needs re-branding with something fancier, like "dalmatian cabbage" or to be discovered as the Brazilian miracle food, "couve".

we harvested spinach today. Yup, broke them out of the hardpacked snow and they look fine We took all the carrots and turnips last week before the snow. The collards we took last week as well. Here in the north they become much sweeter after a couple of hard frosts, same with parsnips. Collards we generally just cut em up and toss them in a cast iron skillet with onions and turnips, ginger, nutmeg, garlic, salt and pepper....