What's going on here? Is this cabbage?

I thought this was my brussel sprout plant but I think I was mistaken, as my lone brussel sprout plant is in another bed and I can already see sprouts.

But what is this?? It does not have a nice head like my other cabbage, and the leaves *appear* to be coalescing in the center of the plant. The plant is very green and healthy looking, and is approx. 2' high x 2' wide. It was a transplant planted on Oct. 3rd.

This message was edited Dec 24, 2010 11:11 AM

This message was edited Dec 24, 2010 11:17 AM

Appears to be a collard.

That would be my guess, too. You can pick the smaller leaves and steam them.

Thanks Farmerdill & Honeybee.

Well Honeybee, if I steam the smaller leaves does that mean the bigger leaves are no good or does that just mean I have to cook them differently? I'll see if I can look this up somewhere on the web. I have some big leaves, you know. Some are damaged by the frost and I will have to prune those.

A collard...Lol. The vendor must have mistaken this for a brussel sprout or something because I never intended to buy a collard plant. I hear this is good eats, though.

All depends John. Lots of old timers only pulled the large outer leaves, leaving the plant to grow. Use to see a patch in the spring with 3-4 foot stalks with a little tuft of leaves at the top. I prefer to cut the entire plant , the tender center leaves add flavor. I do remove the stems from the older leaves, throw them all in a pot with a ham hock, boil until tender. Serve with southern style cornbread. Old timers liked to drink buttermilk with the meal, but I pass on that.

Bulldog collard on Christmas eve

Indeed...buttermilk with any meal, no thanks. I remember our elementary school stocking buttermilk cartons (1/2 pint size I believe) in addition to the more sought-after chocolate, whole, & skim milk cartons. I made the mistake of trying the buttermilk one afternoon and did not like it.

Thanks again for the info.

Speaking of collard greens I love them if someone prepares it because i was not exposed to cooking them. I have to tell you a funny story about collard greens. one of my friends know of a farmer who planted tons of collard for sale for Thanksgiving. Only a dollar per plant and it is help self deal. It was a 30 minute drive and brought with us several bags of heavy duty trash bags.

The day before the harvest i asked some of my co workers how to clean them and was told to individually remove the leaves and carefully wash them in the washing machine. I carefully arrange them and started the wash cycle for just few minutes and when I opened it it was a total surprise!!! There was millions of pieces !!! I was able to get some to cook and when I went back to work I told people at work and they all had a good laugh!!! You only wash them for seconds you silly girl!! To top it all i bought spiral ham to give it flavor which made it very expensive!!!

That was the first and last time i dealt with collard greens!!!@####!!!

Have a Merry Christmas!!!!!! We are in Alabama visiting our children. Belle

John, I prefer the smaller leaves. The older ones can be a little bitter. Leave the leaves at the very center of the plant so they can keep growing. I also remove the older leaves as they turn yellow and toss them into the compost.

Collards on Christmas morning.

Honeybee, this time of year the collards shouldn't be bitter. The frost/cold weather really sweetens them up! Yummy!

John, like Farmerdill I pull the lower/bigger leaves, "priming" them, as tobacco growers would call it. Lay the big leaves on top of each other, slice the center ribs out, roll the rest together and slice. No need to go search for recipes, lots of us here will be glad to elaborate. I believe you'll get a much bigger harvest from that collard plant than you'd ever get from one plant of Brussels sprouts.

Farmerdill, you better guard that collard patch...New Years Day is a'coming!

Shoe

I remember my grandmother drinking a cup of buttermilk every morning, sitting up in her bed, out of a metal (tin) cup!! I hated the smell of buttermilk, much less the taste! Blech!! My dad loves buttermilk. I guess he learned that from his mother! LOL