The southern states are primarily responsible for the bulk of production of collard greens in the United States. In fact, South Carolina chose collard greens as its state vegetable and Georgia is the second top producing state for collard greens.
There are two major types of growers of collard greens: fresh-market growers and processing-market growers. Fresh market growers may be categorized as either large-scale or small-scale, depending on the size of their operations. Most collard green production takes place on small-scale operations, but there are a few large-scale commercial operations. Processing-market greens are eventually sold as canned and frozen products. While visual attractiveness of the greens is not nearly as important to the processing market, collards produced for fresh-market sellers must be fresh and attractive in appearance.
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Pre-Harvest
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Collard greens thrive best in the spring or fall seasons due to the cooler conditions. Collards planted in fall are often favored because the leaves are believed to taste sweeter after the first frost. Although they do well in most types of soil, heavier soil loams help to produce higher yields in fall, and well-drained sandy soils are best in the spring season. The plant needs average temperatures of 60 °F to 65 °F, but can withstand the light freezes and frosts which accompany the cooler season. Collard greens are often direct seeded and thinned or transplanted for production. The plant takes anywhere from six to eight weeks to be ready for transplanting and generally requires 12 to 18 inches of spacing. Collard greens, like other leafy greens, have shallow roots, requiring less water than other crops. However, it is important during germination and crop maturation to continuously provide adequate moisture to aid in the plant’s growth.
Harvest
Collard plants are often cut by hand, field-packed, and cooled before being shipped to market. However, harvesting methods depend on the market and scale of the operation. The leaves of the collard plant grow from its main stalk and can be harvested once they have grown to about 10 to 12 inches long. Removing the outer leaves first allows the plant to continue to produce throughout the season.
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After being harvested, trimmed, and cleaned, the leaves are bunched together, bulk loaded, and packed 12 to 24 bunches per box. Boxed greens are then topped with ice for transport to ensure temperatures of 40 ℉ or less are maintained. Approximately 2.2 pounds of ice are required for every four pounds of collards. Collard greens have a two-week shelf life if they are stored at 32 °F to 36 °F to prevent moisture loss and to ensure crisp leaves.
Post-Harvest
Collard greens are No.1 U.S. grade when they are fresh, clean, well-trimmed, and of a color specific to the variety. The greens must not have coarse stems and should be free of discoloration, decay, or damage resulting from freezing, foreign material, disease, insects, mechanical, or any other means. The tolerances for collard grades are based on the product weight of the container, which can be no more than 10% by weight of the units of any lot.
More information on kale production provided by the United States Department of Agriculture can be found at Produce Point of Origin Database.
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