advice please

[lottie dolly]

i have some chard seeds,bright lights,they are variouse coloured stems,since buying them iv'e not had time to sow until now,packet says,april to july,but,i have been veiwing another thread that says rainbow can still be sown,this i am interested in growing as another taste from the lottie my question is,do you think it will apply to my variety,thank you

[FionaH]

Dont know to be honest. But would love to know the answer cos Id like to sow some too

[wellie]

I'd love to say GO AHEAD! everything will be top banana! but sadly, at this time of year, the light is surely beginning to fade a little too much for optimum germination and growth to get anything worthwhile growing now for a viable crop.

Sure enough, if you don't mind waiting to harvest any of it until late spring/early summer next year, then you've got absolutely nothing to lose by trying a late sowing now.

Hope it all works out for you...

[fwuffydragon]

Have a go - it's fairly hardy stuff - you might not get much for dinner off it till the spring, but if you want baby salad then I'm sure it will do you proud! If you can cloche it then it will continue to grow. It will normally last overwinter even out in the open, but won't grow much.

I have overwintered chard before - be warned though, the second year it will severely go to seed - mine was about 4ft tall and quite impressive!

[Demeter]

The October edition of a gardening mag I won't name cos it aint GYO has an article on chard and states that the latest sowing is July / August and that even these are unlikely to be ready to harvest before late winter / early spring. So - probably best to put your hands in your pockets and wait until April...

Also, next year, if you do a sowing in May / June you will be getting a crop from middle or late summer through to at least October - we sowed in May (I think) and the plants have been cropping for ages, still going strong!

[zazen999]

I disagree, I sow my chard at this time of year and treat it like winter lettuce - cut and come again. I put some in a couple of weeks ago.

My feeling is, you are never going to use ALL those seeds anyway, and if you sow some in the spring you will probably thin out and throw them away. So, try it and see. You'll only need 2 or 3.

You might not get the biggest plants, but there is no reason why not as these are hardy plants anyway.

[lottie dolly]

thank all very much for your replies,i have read them with interest,i shall sow some tomorrow,and then again next year,i've never seen any before,yet alone tasted them,but from veiwing other threads,they sound rather nice,and should make a change in taste,and a different colours on the plate always seem to taste better.

[FionaH]

Yep thanks all. I am going off to sow some now and see what happens