How To Grow Tree Collards From Cuttings

          Written by Peter Otieno

             

Tree Collard is a vegetable from the Brussica family which includes other vegetables like broccoli, cabbage,cauliflower and lettuce. It a green vegetable grown for its edible, tasty, tender leaves. It rarely grows to seeds nor produce flowers  but if it does there are normally small in number. 

In this blog we discuss how to grow perennial tree collards from cuttings and show you the health benefits of eating them.

First, let's understand the term perennial crop. A perennial crop is one that is planted once till its maturity then you harvest and continue to do the same all year round (its shelf life is not limited to two years or three months).

Perennial Tree Collards are not grown from seeds but rather from their cuttings. They do not need to be replanted every season or year and after harvest their leaves grow back automatically.

In Kenya,we call it 'sukuma wiki' meaning 'push the week' .It can be eaten all week as it fits in most meal recipe such as beef stews, rice, ugali, chicken, salads or fish. Perennial Tree Collard is simple to grow, cook and easily available in nearest shops and local food markets.

Now let's see how its grown.

 Prepare Land - First determine the size of land you want to grow your tree collards as it will help you know what tool or machine to use. For a large sized farm a tractor will be useful while a smaller farm or kitchen garden will require jembe or rake.

Prepare your garden to a fine tilth and make raised beds or leave it to a level ground in readiness for the holes you will dig once you get the cuttings.

Perennial tree collards are portable plants, so if your space is little you can prepare pots or buckets for growing them. 

Use loam soil as its the most suitable for collard farming and as an addition, when you are planting for the first time on bare land, a double dig will be great for easy turning and decomposition of plant materials before making fine tilth.

When preparing land, understand your terrain and make trenches where possible on the farm to facilitate proper drainage, reduce soil erosion and avoid water logging, later on your farm.

 Get Stem Cuttings - If you have a garden with tree collards then it will be easier to get stem cuttings and if not, then you will have to source from farmers or buy in local markets.

How do you get cuttings? Pick a mature perennial tree collard plant in your garden. Check for young medium sized shoots, then pull them from the stem of the parent stock plant or main plant. When doing this, look at the nodules of the shoots you pull from the stem as they are the ones which enable root formation. 

                

A shoot or cutting with few nodules will result to slow growth or drying up of plant.

 What next? Depending on the size of your farm, pick as many shoots as you like, remove excess leaves on the tip of shoots leaving a maximum of four big leaves then keep them under a moist shade. This keeps them fresh if you decide to plant the next day.

 Plant Cuttings - Ensure you are planting early morning or late evening to avoid plant stress that may arise from excessive sunlight during mid day.

On prepared level ground, dig holes 20cm deep, 40cm between each plant and 50cm between rows. For raised beds dig holes 20cm deep, 30cm between each plant and 45 cm between rows.

After this, proceed by adding two cups full, of well decomposed animal or composite manure then plant tree collard cuttings, gently cover with soil and leave tips of shoot with leaves to receive sunlight.

Lastly water your plants then add mulch either immediately or after seven days when the roots have began to penetrate the ground.

Mulching aids in retaining moisture content within roots and keep your plants cool. Its more advantageous during dry season when water is scarce.

 Note that after three to five days some of the leaves may tend to wither. This is normal but as long as the tips of the cuttings remain green, more leaves will still grow. If they do not, then see to it that you replace with fresh cuttings.

Tree Collards grow well under full sun and this increases photosynthesis.

 Manage Garden - This involves irrigation, weeding, top dressing and pest management.

Irrigate your tree collardss three days a week if it doesn't rain and weed after three weeks. At this stage you will require labor so set a side some funds to pay workers especially if you have a large farm.

Soon after weeding, for a sustainable growth and continuous harvesting of leaves all year round,  top dress with  organic manure.

Perennial Tree collards are hardy hence not so much affected by aphids and cutworms like cabbages but its good to spot them early for easy control while your plants are still young.

Rainy season is good for pest control because rain water washes away pests on leaves.

                   

 Harvest Tree Collards - These collards take one and a half months to mature unlike seed propagated ones that go for two months.

How do you  harvest? For continuous growth and regeneration of leaves, leave three to four leaves at the top of the plant and use this as a rule every time you harvest.

I have seen farmers pick even the top leaves leaving collard plants as skeletons and this causes retarded growth.

Once you have identified your four leaves, continue picking as many leaves depending on whether you are selling to a market in bulk or its for home consumption.

Start by picking large ones then those on lower parts of stock plant and remove yellow leaves if there are any.

Harvesting should be done every one to two weeks and a better way of doing it is by harvesting tree collards in sections whether its a large farm or kitchen garden.

This facilitates vigorous growth and availability of this leafy green vegetable in contrast to when you harvest the whole farm, which may result into waiting up to a month to get a good number of leaves.

 My Conclusion

Some of the benefits of perennial tree collards to our body include:

-  As leafy green vegetables, they contain fiber which lowers blood sugar levels, besides that their fiber and water content promote healthy digestion.

-  They are a source of calcium that aids in strong bones and teeth formation.

-  Antioxidants present in tree collards help remove free radicals or unwanted toxins that may lead to inflammations.

-  Tree Collards contain omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin C and iron which promote brain health and function.

-  They contain vitamin A, C, E for eye health and vitamin K for blood clotting.

Perennial tree collards are hardy tolerant plants and can grow well in warm or cold temperatures so long as they get enough water.