Moses Smith Yellow Cabbage Collard variety description
Fairly uniform but one plant is significantly darker green than others. Leaves are light green to blue-green with an elliptic to ovate shape, lobed outline, and wavy margin. Most stems are light green with a touch of purple coloring. Leaves have low to moderate blistering. Plants measure 10.5-22 inches tall and 23-40 inches wide. Average eating qualities.
Moses Smith Yellow Cabbage Collard variety history
This variety is from Moses Smith of Scotland Neck, North Carolina. He is an African-American farmer who sells collards to many people from his 2-acre property. Moses originally purchased this variety from a nursery in Franklin, Virginia and has kept his own seed for the last 10 years. In 2003, he gave some seeds to Dr. Edward Davis, a professor of geography at Emory & Henry College, who was collecting heirloom collard strains for preservation on behalf of the USDA Accession. Seed Savers Exchange received this variety in 2016 from the USDA Accession collection (PI 662811).
Seed Status:
This variety is low quantity in the Seed Savers Exchange collection and is in need of regeneration. We are actively looking for more seed stewards willing to regenerate and steward this variety. Please get in touch if you are interested. Email collards@seedsavers.org.
I heard about Moses Smith collards and am interested in growing it just for myself. Is there a way I can purchase seeds? I am not a farmer just a citizen that has a small garden, but I like to be active in social justice and this caught my interest on my local PBS station.
Thank you, Scott
We are regenerating that variety at the moment. Sistah Seeds should have seeds available this fall!