Swiss Chard

[kittyk]

I grew a couple of lots of Swiss Chard in pots last year and it grew well but I never got round to eating it-this was mainly because I picked a few slugs off which put me off!

The thing is, it is still going strong and survived all the frosts and even deep snow. For this reason, I am going to grow it again this year but what shall I do with the surviving plants-compost them? What would they taste like now after all this time?

Thanks.

[Two_Sheds]

One way to find out ... taste it.

[gojiberry]

It is still possible to harvest swiss chard by just using the smaller fresh leaves. If you want to over winter it again don't sow to early as it will just go to seed. I think mid May is probably the best time for over wintering but someone may know differently.


Ian

[Flummery]

Mine is still going. Not many leaves and the new ones are small but great to throw a handful into a curry. I love it like this. I now have 2 trays of seedlings to go in to the ground shortly. 1 lot of Bright Lights and one lot of a heritage variety called Samara. I can't get enough of it! I sowed it early last year and only one plant went to seed before winter. It might have made a difference that the summer was cold and rubbish! You could always pu in a second sowing in May. Incidentally, it was the only crop the slugs, caterpillars and pigeons didn't bother with last year.

[Demeter]

Swiss chard was one of our most successful crops last year and although we have dug it up now we were harvesting it up until a few weeks ago. And perpetual spinach i.e. leaf beet, which is a closely related plant, is still cropping well in my garden. I shall grow both again this year In fact I've already sown them, growing bright lights chard this year.

[Scottishnewbie]

i grew swiss chard but didnt do anything with it as, the one time i cooked it, no-one, and i mean no-one in our family liked it! How do other GYO-ers cook it please?

[sewer rat]

You cook it like spinach when it is young - when it gets bigger and the central stem is quite large, strip the leafy part from the stem and cook as spinach, slice the stem and braise it. Quite a few of my box customers who had never tried it say they prefer it to spinach - one advantage it has is that whilst spinach cooks away to nothing, chard retains some of it's bulk.
I grew loads of chard last year and have just sown more - I am still croppping last years chard both from outside and from in the polytunnel - it is a perfect veg for me as I can crop it at least once a month throughout the year for my boxes. In fact, it was in my boxes two weeks ago, and will be in them again this week - this time as baby chard.

[kittyk]

Thanks everyone-I'm definitely going to go for it again-it has flourished and is really pretty too-the rainbow type is even prettier so will have a go with that also.

[MrsC]

I'm trying this too for the first time this year. Is it quick to grow? Any tips on transplanting? Thanks

[Demeter]

I'm trying this too for the first time this year. Is it quick to grow? Any tips on transplanting? Thanks

it is pretty quick to grow and doesn't need any special treatment, just stick it in the ground and good things will happen. My kind of plant

[sewer rat]

I'm trying this too for the first time this year. Is it quick to grow? Any tips on transplanting? Thanks

It grows pretty quickly Mrs C. I start mine in cells and plant out when the roots more or less fill the cell - plant about 8" apart. It is quite hardy and as I said before I have some outside and some in the tunnel - the plants in the tunnel have been trated as CCA all year and have been cropped at least half a dozen times if not more.

[RedThorn]

Just don't let any chickens near your chard or perpetual spinach!!! lol They're the only thing I've come across that destroys them

Try putting it in a pot with some crumbled feta cheese and let it cook down. Take the lid off once the leaves are about 1/2 the size of when you put them in. cook until most the water gone. Lovely creamy sauce from the feta hmmm

[MrsC]

Thanks, going to sow some this weekend!

[vegnut]

Thanks for the info everyone. I was just the other day thinking about some rainbow chard, youv'e made my mind up. So buy a packet it is...