garden news-collard tree greens

GARDEN NEWS-COLLARD TREE GREENS

this is ms b and mr hudson putting out compost in their raised bed garden
they have both dug in the garden enough so that i just gave them a 5 gallon bucket of compost and they spread it out pretty evenly over the bed
they then planted a row of green bean vine seeds 
yes they are getting there those two organic green gardeners
mr n is now getting exposed to the garden but he isnt mobile enough yet to start digging in the dirt


this is a walking stick kale or walking stick cabbage
other names are cow cabbage tree collard tree kale cow kale 
here is a wikipedia link to its history 

for this one i just cut off a foot long branch of a momma walking stick kale and just stuck it in the ground at the end of one of my 3ft x 8 ft garden beds
it now has grown into this 4 ft tall tree 
here is a link in how to propagate one

note that link mentions using a granular fertilizer which is not organic
i used an organic fertilizer and compost and liquid fertilizer seaweed molasses mix on mine

this cabbage tree or walking stick kale or whatever you want to call it is from the jersey islands in the channel islands
all this is in the links above and in this link

i see a walking stick in my future also

you can buy seeds for this walking stick kale at this link or google it
the plant can be hard to find

the best time to eat the leaves is in the winter months
i decided after waiting a few months that it was time for me to eat me some tree collard greens

i am a southerner who grew up eating collard greens usually cooked in some type of meat like hog jowls or ham hocks etc
since
i am mostly vegetarian now i found this good vegetarian crock pot recipe in the southern living magazine
click here to see the recipe

i added garlic and hickory liquid smoke and olive oil and two pads of butter to the pot
i pulled one of my softball sized texas 1015 onions from my garden and added it also


this is what the collard tree looks like when i got through with it
looks like a rabbit or deer had a good time on that tree
no
it was togd

i also each week pick the smaller leaves to use in our salads 
they are tasty and tender

this collard tree will be allowed to regrow more leaves
then
i will make another pot of tree collard greens
that pot will have tomatoes garlic onions and of course collards from my garden


these collards are easy to cook
i washed them and soaked them 
the birds seem to like these trees a lot
regular collard greens will have a lot of dirt on them 
these collard tree collards do not have much dirt on them

after washing i chopped them up with knife
i added a few chopped up stems to the mix also

i dropped it in the crock pot added my vegetable broth and seasonings
added my chopped up texas sweet 1015 softball sized onion
added my chopped up garlic and a can of diced tomatoes and peppers
following the recipe except for the additional items mentioned above
i cooked them on low for  9 hours

i must say our condo smelled like a southerners kitchen all day

so
i plated me up a giant serving of these greens
with
a piece or two or three of my wife shes cast iron skillet cornbread

i closed my eyes and took a long breath through my nose
smelling those walking stick collard greens
yes
i could smell my moms kitchen 

the organicgreen doctor