Tree collards and kale

[castanea]

Jan 17, 2016 13:56:33 GMT -5 rangardener said:

I don’t use tree collard as a replacement of other vegetables (“real” collard or so), I use/view it as, well … , “tree collard”.

No bitterness at all. Sweeter in cold seasons like other Brassicas. The texture is much tougher than most Brassica greens. To me, lacto ferment with it is nice (then stir fried, the usual Asian way of using lacto ferments). I also like it well chopped for a very chewy omelet for breakfast (that sounds weird??). I plan try it for kimchi. A friend of mine likes it for salad, obviously we all have different tastes and uses of the same plant.

(See here in the old HOS forum: www.homeorchardsociety.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8544&sid=1540a4e2ec6f090b967182df51392cd9)

You might like it, or you might not. I like it. (And it is beautiful, too.)

I like the idea of chopping it and adding to an omelet.

[eastex]

Thanks so much, guys! I'm anxious about them rooting because I've read it's pretty stark percentages of succes, but hopefully they will take off and I can learn to adjust the uses for things where their toughness can be an asset. I'm considering using them for wrapping and steaming. Perhaps they'll work well in this fashion.

[steev]

Maybe go Southern and cook them long and slow with smoked meat products (pork neckbones, turkey tails, ham hocks, like that); might want a bit of chile. C'mon, if you're in Texas, you know this.

[eastex]

I do, but I keep trying to keep more nutrients and not cook my greens to death...that's honestly how I prefer my greens. Some bacon fat and garlic and cooked down. I keep being reminded lately not to cook all the 'goodness' out of my veggies, tho. So, I'm trying to find alternative methods. Fermenting and steaming without cooking too long. I could eat traditionally made greens until I'm sick, but my friends and fam are all about Not cooking veggies too much.

[steev]

Cut out a portion for them while it's still "underdone", then continue cooking your part to perfection; one of my housemates has difficulty dealing with my veggie-cooking (he likes his raw, even potatoes; I don't think that's even very digestible). I'm not into boiling and draining; I mostly steam or braise, maybe a little caramelization (adds so much depth of savor and umami), so there's little water. Does it degrade vitamins? I don't think my diet is vitamin-deficient, nor do I think I must eat a "balanced" diet daily, nor do I scarf a handful of vitamin pills and dietary supplements daily, like our landlady. Nevertheless, I'm the only one of us that does physical work daily. I suppose, in a way, I live a somewhat hunter-gatherer lifestyle. I should get back into flint-knapping.

[philagardener]

Jan 19, 2016 21:29:23 GMT -5 steev said:

 I suppose, in a way, I live a somewhat hunter-gatherer lifestyle. I should get back into flint-knapping.

Don't want to loose your edge! 

[steev]

Gotta keep chipping away at it.

[rangardener]

Jan 18, 2016 21:32:33 GMT -5 eastex said:

I'm anxious about them rooting because I've read it's pretty stark percentages of success, ... 

My own experience: the success rate is quite high, just like many other Brassica.

One fun observation: do not be fooled by the appearance of vigorous leaf growth, there might not be any rooting at all. Root growth is much slower.

[eastex]

steev , ugh!  My husband eats potatoes raw too!  That is so gross to me.  A potato is a wondrous gift from God that would absolutely play a role in my last meal on earth, but it is not good raw in my opinion.  That man eats much more raw vegetation than I do.  I can't help it, tho.  I wasn't born one of those folks who likes most produce without cooking it.  I like WARM FOOD.  Ubless it's the dead of summer and I'm outside working....or it's a melon.  Warm melon sounds equally disgusting as raw potato.

rangardener, good to know!  I am more hopeful now.  I've kept them watered and I put them outside during the day.  I hope by late spring to have some roots.

[steev]

Warm food, yes; certainly there are many things I like cold, but often cooked first; no question in my mind that fire was a great discovery. Never before has the idea of warm melon crossed my mind...; well, there's Chinese Winter Melon soup, but I've never had that.

My copy of Mickler's "White Trash Cookbook" notes cold left-over collards between balloon bread as a pretty good sandwich; haven't tried it, rarely having left-over collards and balloon bread simultaneously or even often.

[eastex]

Never heard of balloon bread. I need to look this up.

[steev]

It's just that puffed-up white bread.

[eastex]

Just an update: my tree collards are all still going strong. One is slightly less enthusiastic than the other two, but all have leaves and branches growing more leaves, so I am hopeful that there is a decent root system on the way. I will leave them in their pots until May, I think. By then they will be firmly established and also benefit from the afternoon shade before things really heat up! Things are coming along nicely.

[eastex]

Okay, this growing season has been hectic, but I'd like to ask: does anyone else have tree collards that smell like garlic shrimp? It sounds super weird, but it is completely true!!

[rangardener]

Oct 10, 2016 18:24:04 GMT -5 eastex said:

... does anyone else have tree collards that smell like garlic shrimp? 

Garlic shrimp?? That good?

I recently pruned out most of the summer leaves, a huge pile for mulching/compost, for the new growth of the cool season - that is when they will be sweet and tasty. The huge pile of leaves were quite smelly, obviously from the sulfur compounds. I kind of assume deer did not even touch tree collards because of the smell. Here I have an all-you-can-eat-buffet for deer and they try everything (my avatar is the bite marks they left on my apples). They ate my other kale scraps but not the huge pile of smelly tree collards.