First Proper Harvest of the Year

[Samurailord]

I have been taking small amounts of produce for while now, a couple of raspberries here and a tomato there but the only thing that has done well enough to get a decent crop from has been my rhubarb.



Until now, that is.

Tonight I noticed that my Bright Lights Chard had started to bolt, so I decided to harvest a couple of plants and see if the leaves were still OK or if they had become too bitter.

I braised a handful in some stock and had them as a side dish with tea, fortunately they tasted fine so I stripped the leaves and tender stalks from two plants ready to be turned into soup tomorrow.



In total I have got around 450g from the two plants so I am expecting a further 600g or so from the remaining three.

Not a bad haul for the first time round

Andy

[veggiechicken]

Well done! In my experience, once you have seen the Bright Lights, you'll always want them - if you let a plant go to seed they'll be there for you, come hail or shine. Excellent in stirfries too.

[Alison]

One of the really good things about chard is that it doesn't matter if it bolts, it doesn't go horrible and you can just cut the bolting bit back and let the rest of the plant carry on. It's a plant that just keeps giving and very pretty too

[Rhona]

Looks good! We've never grown chard before - 'tis our first year. It's pretty slow so far; but this year, what isn't?

[hamesy]

Feels great when you bring your first proper haul back doesn't it?

[Samurailord]

It sure does.

I have been excited over three strawberries, nine raspberries and three pea pods already - don't know how I will cope with a full harvest

Andy

[hamesy]

I was the same. My first harvest was radish and lettuce and I couldn't wait to eat them.

[Nik]

Chop the leaves off the stalks and steam them seperately and then eat the stalks like asparagus with butter and pepper. Delish.

[Samurailord]

The first lot is going to be braised with some chick peas and plenty of spices then blended to make a thick spicy chick pea and chard soup.

The rest will be frozen and brought out to liven up curries, stir fries etc.

Andy