Know your collards, lesson 2: find your planting window

Know your collards · Lesson 2 of 7

Cousins, somebody in South Florida can be planting while somebody in Minnesota is putting the garden to bed. Both can be doing the right thing. Before we follow a planting post, we need to know where that person is growing.

Start with the weather, not somebody else's calendar

Collards grow best in cooler weather. That gives us a simple starting point:

• Warm winters: In places like South Florida, fall and winter are often good growing seasons.
• Cold winters: Many gardeners grow collards in spring or start a late-summer crop for fall.
• Very hot weather: Heat can make seedlings struggle and slow good leaf growth. Consider waiting for cooler weather or starting seeds in a protected place.
• Freezing weather: Established collards tolerate some frost, but small seedlings need more care. Watch for hard freezes and shortening days.

Find a planting window that fits your home

Look at the weather you actually get. When does your hottest weather ease up? When does your first hard freeze usually arrive, if you have one? Is there enough mild growing time for the plants to get established?

A regional planting guide can help if one exists for your area. It does not have to be county-specific. Your local nursery, experienced growers nearby, or a state university's vegetable guide may also offer useful clues. Compare that advice with your recent weather and forecast.

Florida growers: UF/IFAS lists North, Central, and South Florida planting windows. Those are starting points, not promises for every yard.

Remember: USDA hardiness zones describe average winter cold. They are not vegetable planting calendars.

Choose one of these next steps

Your seed-planting window is open: sow according to your packet and local guide. The seed-planting window has closed but the young-plant window is open: look for healthy local collard starts. Both have closed: put the next planting date on your calendar. Buying seeds today does not require planting them today.

Check the local forecast, too. Collards can handle some cold, but a newly sprouted plant and an established collard are not the same. Shorter days slow growth; the days on a packet are an estimate, not a dinner reservation.

Make a planting plan you can use

Write down when your area usually gets milder weather. Decide whether you'll start seeds or use young plants. Before planting, check the forecast and your seed packet. Cousins, we are growing in our own weather—not somebody else's comment section.

All collard lessons · Previous lesson · Next lesson

More help for this step: UF/IFAS regional vegetable guide · USDA hardiness zones · University of Maryland vegetable planting guidance

— Erica Plants
Food Security Starts With a Seed.