Charding ahead
Time to celebrate. We’re back on the road to productivity…It’s safe to go back into the garden!
After the rats ate all our chard, we began to go into withdrawal. We love chard!
Though it was the end of summer we went ahead and started some seeds in an undisclosed location to transplant when the invaders were gone. All the planting charts say to plant chard in the spring. We figured – we’re in zone 9b…we can do whatever we want. Actually, I just didn’t know any better.
In all, we have 12 chard seedlings that we put into the raised beds last weekend. To help them along we set up a frame and covered the beds with clear plastic – a mini greenhouse. We hope this will help them catch up a bit and become hearty enough to get through the winter. We’ve done this with most of our fall/winter beds since we ended up with such a late start due to the garden invaders. So far, all the plants are doing well. Plus we haven’t even gotten our Indian Summer yet. In our area, the best weather comes in early Fall.
Chard loves well composted soil with a pH from 7.0-7.5 and grows best in full sun but can do well in partial shade as well. Hot weather can trigger the plant to go to seed so if your area experiences hot weather, partial shade maybe preferable.
Sow seeds directly into your garden bed or in a pot at least 7 gallons in size from early Spring to late Summer. Chard is a member of the beet / spinach family so rotate accordingly.
The seeds are protected by a fairly hard shell so you can soak the seeds for a few hours before putting them into the ground to help germination. Each seed (as in the case of beets) is actually many seeds in one. When the seeds sprout, you will notice many plants growing in the same spot. When I first planted chard, I kept thinking I dropped too many seeds into the hole.
Thin the seedlings to about 6 to 8 inches apart. Most garden resources say that chard doesn’t like to be transplanted but I have had good luck moving the seedlings with 90% or more survival as long as the seedling has at least 6 leaves. Keep the seedlings well watered until they are establish.
There are a number of varieties: green leaves with white stalks – Fordhook and Lucullus; with red stalks – Ruby Red and Rhubarb; with five color rainbow stalks – Bright Lights. We like the added color of the rainbow in our garden so Bright Lights is our standby.
Leaf miners and aphids are typical pests. Use a dilute soap solution (about 2 teaspoons dish soap in a quart spray bottle) or use the vermin vinaigrette.
Plants usually mature in 50 to 60 days but you can start harvesting tender young leaves in half that time. These young leaves are great eaten raw mixed with your salad greens.
To harvest, cut the outer leaves at the stem an inch or two from the base. You can continue harvesting this way from the same plant for months and months. I’ve even had plants survive through the winter. With the Bright Lights variety, the cold weather makes the colors much more intense.
To prepare – I simply cut the leaves, stalk and all, into 3 or 4 inch cross wise strips and saute in extra virgin olive oil with a smashed garlic clove. I’ll cover the pot for about 5 minutes or until the stalks are tender but still have a bit of crisp bite to them. Generally, chard can be used in any recipe that calls for spinach.
Another idea is to lightly steam large leaves and use them to wrap fish before cooking or in place of grape leaves for swiss chard dolmas
One of my all time favorites is to make a ‘white’ pizza with sauteed chard, sliced cooked yukon gold potatoes and fontina cheese – or these toppings as a filling in a grilled cheese sandwich.
Chard…plant it, grow it, eat it!
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