Crops Grown for Their Leaves 249 



and is more hardy. It often fails from lack of water or 

 from excessive heat. In the North, when grown as a 

 fall crop, the small heads of leaves or " buttons," pro- 

 duced in the axils of the leaves, are gathered as desired 

 until some time after cold weather arrives ; or in sections 

 with severe winters, the plants may be dug and stored 

 as recommended in a later chapter (20). If one suc- 

 ceeds in the growing of cabbage, then it is safe to try 

 the growing of Brussels sprouts as an autumn crop. 



Kale and collar d. These plants belong to the cabbage 

 group, but they have separate leaves instead of a head as 

 the cabbage has. Kale, which is the most hardy of the 

 cabbage group, is an excellent winter crop in the South 

 and a late autumn crop in the North, where it may be left 

 without protection even in rather severe winter weather. 

 Dwarf-curled, Siberian, and Tall Scotch are standard 

 varieties of kale. 



The collard withstands summer heat better than kale 

 and hence is better suited for culture in the southern 

 planting zones. The variety known as Georgia is most 

 generally grown. 



Both kale and collard are often grown from seeds 

 sown directly in the garden in rows about 2 or 3 

 feet apart, and later thinned so that the plants stand 

 about 12 inches from one another in the row. The 

 plants are left standing where grown until light freezing 

 makes the leaves of the loose heads tender. 



Pe-tsai or Chinese cabbage. Chinese cabbage is a 

 leafy vegetable that deserves a trial in the home vege- 

 table garden. It is generally grown as an autumn crop, 

 but even in the northern planting zones it can be grown as 



