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| "Brown spotting" on collard greens |
Collard greens are a staple of my garden, and they’re generally one of the most reliable plants, frost-hardy, sprouting early in the spring and providing ample supplies of nutritious greens until early winter when the ground begins to freeze. I’ve found them generally resistant to disease and bugs, though a few problems can arise, one of which I haven’t solved.
Slugs
Slugs look just like snails, but without the shell. I often see a slew of slugs attacking the greens in the spring. This is very easily addressed with a sprinkling of lime on the plants. A single light coating generally solves the problem. It also is helpful to harvest the collards prior to sprinkling lime on the plants so that the foliage is less dense and lush, thereby removing much of the food source and shaded hiding places that the slugs prefer.
Early this spring during the first and only onslaught of slugs that occurred on the greens, I spied a little brown snake tunneling through a straw pile in the garden. It turns out that slugs are a favorite food of the brown snake, and they had undoubtedly drawn the shy (and harmless to humans) visitor.
Flea Beetles
Flea beetles are aptly named. They resemble fleas in appearance and behavior. They are about 1/16” long and quickly jump off the plant when approached. In the past I’ve had problems with flea beetles attacking the collard greens, though they seem to prefer softer foliage. Since I’ve been planting eggplant the flea beetles attack that instead and leave the collards alone. A combination of soap spray followed by a dusting of lime has been helpful at controlling the beetles when they develop a hankering for the greens, though I’m looking for more effective treatments.
Brown spotting
This problem has occurred this summer and I’ve yet to understand the cause or find a solution. Nor do I know the formal or “scientific” name of the problem. I’ve illustrated it in a photo at the top of this posting. It is a brown spotting that first developed towards the middle of the summer season after the plants had produced high yields of perfectly formed and richly colored greens in the spring. The spots are non-uniform and leave the affected areas brown and papery-dry. I’m wondering if calcium deficiency in the soil may be a factor since I’ve noticed that to be a problem elsewhere (end-rot on tomatoes, for example), so I’ve recently added bone meal to the soil around the greens to see if that helps. If anyone has any other ideas as to what may be causing the brown spotting, please let me know!
