{"product_id":"florida-ultracross-collards","title":"Florida Ultracross Collards","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a unique, super diverse landrace you won't find anywhere else!! This is a north Florida saved version of the original Ultracross, and you can read the full story below. Collards don't often set seed this far south, as we don't have cold enough weather long enough, to trigger flowering and then seed development. If we do get a cold enough winter then sometimes its just too late into the spring when they are going to seed and the aphids make seed saving a near impossible nightmare. But the past few seasons we've kept our eye out for gardens growing the Ultracross, where plants went to seed. We've collected from a few different sources but the most bulk of which we're offering here, comes from UF's Field and Fork farm and the Alachua County Farm to School garden. You can choose which one you want if you have a preference!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt UF, three different varieties were cross-pollinating: Alabama Blue, Green Glaze and Flash.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt Farm to School, the original North Carolina Ultracross of 21 species was grown and all that survived were saved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the full story of the Collard Ultracross...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2020 \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theutopianseedproject.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"\u003eThe Utopian Seed Project \u003c\/a\u003e(TUSP, Asheville, NC) along with 8 other trial sites (including us here with our pals at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/fieldandfork.ufl.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUniversity of Florida Field \u0026amp; Fork\u003c\/a\u003e) grew 20 collard varieties as part of a nationwide collard trial for \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/heirloomcollards.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Heirloom Collard Project\u003c\/a\u003e. TUSP also grew \"Lottie\" Collard, bringing the heirloom total to 21. During the winter of 2020 the collards survived lows of 8 degrees F and in spring\/summer 2021 seeds were saved from the surviving plants. Given the obligate outcrossing nature of \u003cem\u003eBrassica oleracea, \u003c\/em\u003ewe're certain of a high degree of inter-variety cross pollination. These seeds represent massive genetic diversity, firstly because the original heirloom collards are genetically diverse, and secondly because they've cross pollinated with each other. Collard grower and Heirloom Collard participant, Melony Edwards, described them as an \"ultracross\" this is not a technical term, but captures the spirit of these collards!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince this NC cross, seeds have successfully been saved further south in Georgia by Sean Dunlap and then even closer to our home in Archer, Florida by Jesse Wilson (Working Food's Youth Education Director!). While collards don't readily go to seed this far south, if it's cold enough (and perhaps the genetics diverse enough!) they will.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304246268093,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Ultracross_collards.jpg?v=1776457073","url":"https:\/\/workingfoodseeds.org\/products\/florida-ultracross-collards","provider":"Working Food ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}