Vegetable
Vates
S tier
Vates collards are a compact, non-heading selection from Virginia truck-crop breeding—darker green, slower to bolt, and suited to dense commercial plantings. Leaves are slightly smaller than Georgia Southern but uniform and meaty. Widely used for fresh market bunches. Cook like any collard; good for both long braises and chopped quick wilts. Reliability in the field made Vates a 20th-century standard. Still appears in seed racks for dependable greens.
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History
Vates collards emerged from Virginia agricultural breeding for truck farms.
Commercial Southern growers widely planted Vates for market bunches.
Vates remained a recommended non-heading collard in extension guides.
Home and market gardeners still chose Vates for bolt resistance.