Collard greens are a popular, nutritious, and cold-hardy leafy vegetable that forms a staple of Southern cuisine, especially throughout Georgia. Successfully growing collards depends entirely on timing the planting to avoid extreme summer heat and leverage the mild winter conditions.
Understanding Georgia’s Growing Seasons
Collards are a cool-weather crop, performing best when temperatures are between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Mature plants are frost-tolerant, capable of surviving temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing them to be grown through winter in the South. Conversely, collard greens do not tolerate prolonged exposure to high summer heat, which causes them to “bolt,” or send up a flower stalk, making the leaves tough and bitter.
Georgia’s climate is highly varied, spanning USDA Hardiness Zones 6b in the northern mountains to 9a along the southern coast. This wide range means the planting window shifts significantly across the state. The most important factor for gardeners is the average first and last frost dates, which define the limits of the cool-season growing period.
In the northern mountainous regions, the last expected spring frost can linger until late April or early May. Moving south into the central Piedmont region, the last frost typically occurs in late March or early April. The warmest coastal and extreme southern areas of Georgia may see their last frost as early as mid-February, creating a much longer potential growing season.
The Dual Planting Schedule for Collards
In Georgia, collards can be planted in both the spring and the late summer/early fall, though the fall crop is generally considered the most successful season. The key to spring planting is timing the harvest before sustained high summer temperatures arrive. For a spring crop, transplants should be set out approximately three to four weeks before the average last frost date for your specific region.
Gardeners in North Georgia (Zone 6b-7b) should aim to transplant seedlings in late March to mid-April for a late spring harvest. In Central Georgia (Zone 8a), the window is earlier, generally from late February to mid-March. Southern and Coastal Georgia gardeners (Zone 8b-9a) can set out transplants from late January through mid-February.
The fall and winter planting is the most traditional time for collards in Georgia, as a light frost improves leaf flavor by converting starches into sugars. To initiate the fall crop, seeds should be direct-sown or transplants set out six to eight weeks before the average first expected fall frost. This timing allows the plants to establish themselves during late summer before cooler weather arrives.
For most of North and Central Georgia, this means sowing seeds in mid-July and setting out transplants in late August or early September. In the warmest parts of South Georgia, the planting window extends into September or early October, as the first frost may not occur until late November or early December. This late-season planting often provides a continuous harvest throughout the mild winter.
Essential Care for Successful Collard Harvests
Collard greens are heavy feeders and require a fertile environment to support large, leafy growth. The planting site should offer full sun (at least six hours of direct sunlight daily), though they can tolerate some afternoon shade in hotter areas. Soil should be rich in organic matter, well-draining, and slightly acidic, ideally with a pH between 6.5 and 6.8.
Before planting, incorporate several inches of aged compost or a balanced, nitrogen-rich fertilizer into the top layer of soil. When using transplants, space them generously (about 18 to 24 inches apart) to ensure good air circulation and prevent fungal diseases. Seeds should be sown about a quarter-inch deep and later thinned to the proper spacing once established.
Consistent soil moisture is important for tender, flavorful leaves, especially during dry spells. Collards typically require one to one-and-a-half inches of water per week, which may need to be supplemented through irrigation. Mid-season feeding with a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer is beneficial to maintain the rapid growth required for a continuous harvest.
The “cut-and-come-again” method is the most effective harvesting technique, providing an extended yield from a single plant. This involves harvesting the lower, outer leaves when they reach a usable size (typically around 10 inches long). Always leave the central growing point, or crown, and at least four healthy, smaller leaves intact to allow the plant to continue producing new foliage.