Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens: Your Quick Care Guide

With the excitement of fall and winter gardening season on the horizon, I’ve been busy starting my favorite cool-season vegetables, like mustard and collard greens. While I was out prepping garden beds, It got me thinking about the best fertilizer for collard greens.  

The Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens & Leafy Greens

Fertilizers high in nitrogen will promote lots of lush, leafy green growth.  This makes fertilizers with a high dose of nitrogen the best fertilizer for collard greens. 

Quick Care Guide for Collard Plants & Leafy Greens

• Soil- Fertile, well-drained soil, with a pH between 6.0-7.0.
• Light- Full Sun to Partial Shade, depending on climate.
• Sow Seeds- Sow 3 to 4 seeds every 12-18″, 1/4 inch deep. Thin seedlings to 1 plant per group.
• Spacing- Plant 12-18 inches apart. Rows 18-36 inches apart. 
• Watering- 1-1.5 inches of water per week. 
• Growing Season- Cooler weather crop. Early Spring, fall, or winter.
• Days to Harvest Time- 60-80 days.
• Family: Brassica Oleracea

Nutrient Needs of Collard Plants

Being that collards are a leafy green, they will thrive on a regular source of nitrogen.  That’s not all they need though. Collard greens also need calcium for optimal growth. 

Organic Recommendations for the Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens 

Since we know that collard greens love nitrogen, you’ll want to pick a fertilizer with a higher nitrogen number. Recently, I switched my organic fertilizer to Hoss Complete Organic Fertilizer, made from composted chicken manure. It has an NPK ratio of 5-4-3.  

Fish Emulsion is also one of the best fertilizers for collard greens. It is gentle enough to use on a weekly basis.

How I Am Prepping My Fall Garden Beds for Leafy Greens

In addition to prepping my beds with mushroom compost and adding Hoss Organic Fertilizer, I also grew a cover crop in those beds.  My cover crop of choice is Sunn Hemp, as it has the potential to add a really good amount of nitrogen and organic matter to the soil.  

Don’t Forget the Calcium for Collard Greens

Calcium Nitrate is also an excellent addition to the fertilizer regime for collard greens, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts to name a few. It has an NPK ratio of 15.5-0-0.

Another free, and clever way to add calcium to the soil is to use eggshells.  Bake a tray of eggshells in the oven and then run them through a food processor to make them into a fine powder.

The best way to use eggshells is at transplanting time.  Simply add some to the hole before planting. In addition to that, you can side-dress plants with it throughout the season.  

Inorganic Recommendations for the Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens

If using an inorganic fertilizer, reaching for 10-10-10 will fertilize your collard greens well.  Just be sure to read and follow the label directions. Follow the fertilizer applications being sure to not overuse them. 

How to Grow Collards From Seed

Starting collard greens from seed is easy.  You can start your own transplants indoors to get a jump on the season or directly sow them in the garden. Either way sow a few seeds 1/4 inch deep, thinning to one plant when they are a couple inches tall.  

You can get my FREE Ultimate Seed Starting Guide here.

Growing Collards in a Pot

Collards will do well in the ground, raised beds, or even in a pot. Collard plants do tend to grow big in fertile soil so you’ll need a big pot.  

Growing them in a 5-gallon bucket would give enough room for one collard plant. Just be sure your container has small holes in the bottom for drainage. 

Planting Collard Plants & Leafy Greens

As a general rule of thumb, I like to plant my young seedlings about 12-18 inches apart.  That gives enough room for growth and to tuck in some companion plants.  This fall and winter I’ll be planting some romaine lettuce with my collard greens. 

Soil Requirements for Leafy Greens

Collard greens prefer loamy, well-drained soil with a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0.  If you aren’t sure of your soil pH or soil fertility, you can do a simple at-home soil test.

Collards will also do well in sandy soils that have been amended with some organic material or good compost. They will not grow well in heavy clay soils that haven’t been amended.

Light Requirements for Leafy Greens

While collard greens do prefer a good amount of sun, they do not like to be hot.  Giving them about 4-6 hours of sun a day and even some afternoon shade should keep them happy. 

​Growing Season for Leafy Greens

Collards and leafy greens prefer cooler temperatures. Planning a fall crop of collards is a popular choice. 

Depending on what zone you are in, they can be grown in early spring into summer, fall, and winter. They do not thrive during the hot summer months and will probably bolt early. Collards will withstand cooler temperatures and get a little sweeter with a frost.

Care During the Season

You won’t need to do much with your collard greens.  I have found them to be pretty hands-off if grown during the cooler months in fertile well-draining soil.  Keeping them watered, fertilized, and weed-free should produce collard plants that give lots of leafy greens.

​Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens

Nitrogen is what you are looking for when it comes to the best fertilizer for collard greens. While there are lots of different types of fertilizer to buy at the store, home gardeners can also make their own.  

Chicken manure is high in nitrogen and can be composted to use in your garden soil.  You can even make chicken manure tea by simply putting a big scoop into a five-gallon bucket of water and using the tea to water your collards.  When considering what the best fertilizer for collard greens is, don’t forget about using chicken manure.

Watering Collard & Leafy Greens

Collard greens need about 1-1.5 inches of water per week for best results.  Mulching around your collard greens will help conserve soil moisture and keep those pesky weeds from taking over. 

Weeding Your Home Gardens

If growing a productive vegetable garden is your goal keeping grass and weeds out should be a top priority.  I like to put garden tasks like weeding on a schedule of sorts. Picking a day of the week to weed helps to consistently get it done.  

Don’t skip that thick layer of mulch either.  Keeping the soil covered will help.

Problems With Collards & Leafy Greens

While leafy greens and collards are relatively easy growers, there are a few issues to be on the lookout for.

• Leaves Turning Yellow- A lack of watering or not enough nitrogen fertilizer can cause yellowing leaves. 
• Bolting- High temperatures can cause collards to bolt.
• Stunted Growth- A lack of water, nutrients, and the heat of summer can cause stunted growth.

Common Pests for this Cool-Season Crop

Collards do have a few pests you need to be on the lookout for. You may see cabbage white moths or brown cabbage looper moths hanging around your plants before you see any caterpillars, cabbage worms, or cabbage loopers. Using row covers early on will keep the egg-laying moths off of your plants. 

Handpicking any caterpillars you see will help control these pests. You may even consider spraying Thuricide containing Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). It will kill caterpillars and worms.

Disease Issues for Leafy Greens

Downy mildew, a fungal disease, presents itself during wet weather with grey, moldy patches on the leaves of your collard greens.  Fungal disease can be treated with a fungicide or you can remove the plants that are effected.  Carefully watering your collards at the soil level, keeping the leaves dry will help keep downy mildew at bay.

Pruning Collards for a Bountiful Harvest

While pruning collards isn’t completely necessary, you can prune off outer, individual leaves that are yellowing.  If your collards are bolting early you can prune off the flower stalk and give it some shade to try and slow the bolting process.

Harvest Collard Greens

Using a small knife or clippers, cut the entire plant about 4 inches from the ground. The whole plant will grow new leaves for additional harvests. You can also take off single, mature leaves by hand, starting from the bottom.  Young, tender leaves can also be snipped off as baby greens. 

Overwintering Collard Plants

Collard greens thrive in winter throughout the South. If you are further north, collards will happily grow through the winter in a cold frame. 

If temperatures dip below freezing you can surround your plants with shredded leaves or straw to keep them warm. You can also cover the plants with a row cover on cold nights.

Storing Leafy Greens

My favorite way to store leafy and collard greens is unwashed and in a plastic bag or airtight container. Not washing until you are ready to use them keeps them fresher for longer. I also add a folded-up, damp paper towel to the container for moisture. You can also blanch and freeze collard greens.

My Recipe for Collards & Leafy Greens

My favorite way to cook collard greens is to chop up some thick-cut, smokey bacon and sautee it with some onions. Once that is looking nice and caramelized, I pour in some homemade bone broth.  To that, I add my chopped-up collard greens and cook them al dente.  

Traditional Recipes for Greens

The southern traditional way of cooking greens is similar.  It typically would have more broth and the greens are usually cooked for longer. Either way is delicious. You can also use mustard greens or turnip greens instead of collards.  I prefer a mix for variety. 

Super Yummy Shrimp and Collard Greens Stir-Fry from NC State Extension 

Ingredients:

• ½ lb. frozen shrimp (shelled), thawed
• 1 lb. collard greens
• Canola oil, 1 TBSP
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ½ tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 ½ Tbsp. water
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 4 cups cooked brown rice

Trim the ends off the stems of the greens and separate the leaves. Clean under running water and drain. Cut stems into 1-inch pieces, and cut the leaves into wide ribbons. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger. Add canola oil, sesame oil, and ginger to a cold pan and heat on medium-high heat.

When the herbs become fragrant and just begin to turn brown, add the stems of the collards. One minute later add the collard leaves and the shrimp. Toss well to coat with the oil, and cook until stems become tender and the shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes.

Popular Varieties of Collard Greens

The Best Fertilizer for Collard Greens

Part of my routine for preparing the fall gardens is making compost with chicken manure. I think I still have enough time to make a quick batch of the best fertilizer for collard greens. My fall collards will just love it!

Happy Homesteading & Gardening,

Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm

Jenny and her family have been homesteading for more than two decades. They currently live on a 10-acre farm in Northeast Florida, which they built from the ground up, nine years ago.

On their farm, they grow 100% of their meat and most of their vegetables. With a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, pastured poultry, sheep, and seasonal pigs, they not only meet their family’s meat needs but also sell their surplus to the local community. They are dedicated to sustainable practices like making compost, seed saving, and processing much of their garden and animal harvests at home. You can find Jenny wandering through her garden, making herbal tinctures, preserving food, making bone broth, and one of Jenny’s favorite hobbies, tanning all types of hides.