Collard Greens in the UK?

[Miss Lily]

Apparently Collard greens are very high in calcium, and I know American members use them a lot to gutload. I don't recall ever seeing anything under that name in the supermarkets though. Does anyone know if they are called something different in the UK? I usually use rocket leaves which are not as high in calcium, but they will do if I can't find Collards anywhere. Also is curly Kale good or bad? I have read that it inhibits calcium absorption like Spinach and Broccoli?

 

[jake01]

Been a while since I read sandra's blog but I believe she recommends to use kale infrequently...can't remember why though.

Collards are super easy to grow, but they are not popular outside of the southern us so it might be unavailable in england.

[edit] sandra's blog is god. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/

 

[joeandsoph]

Hey,

I quite often feed Kale. I've heard from numerous people it's a good staple veg. I use squash alot too, it's Tilly's favourite!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Kale is high in calcium but it's also high in oxalates, which bind to calcium and don't let it be absorbed by your cham. It's fine to use in moderation, but only if you have a good balanced gutload with lots of other sources of calcium. It shouldn't be your main green though for that reason. Collards, turnip greens, mustard greens or dandelions should be the big staples with a little kale thrown in here and there.

Collard greens: The plant is also called couve in Brazil, couve-galega in Portugal, kovi or kobi in Cape Verde, berza in Spanish-speaking countries, raštika in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and raštan in Montenegro and Serbia. In Kashmir, it is called haak. In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), the plant is called sukuma wiki. That's all I got for helpfulness there!

 

[joeandsoph]

Oh right, well Kale will be a treat now then! She mainly has squash, different type of lettuce, sweet potato and dandelions occaisionally They love the dendelions

 

[jdog1027]

I'm not familiar with rocket, or Arugulu as it's also known as, but sandrachameleon's blog on nutrition mentions using it as a gutoad item, so if I were you, I just go with that as well as any other item you can find to switch up with periodicly.