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Swiss Chard

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Gem (U13964749) on Friday, 3rd December 2010

  I am planning my allotment for next year, sad I know but I so excited about having one, I think I am becoming a little bit of an allotment bore.
  
  Anyway, I want to grow some chard, this goes with the roots yes ?.
  
  thanks
  
  Gem

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• Message 2

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  Posted by Kleftiwallah (U13700999) on Friday, 3rd December 2010

  Sorry Gem but I found your question a little hard to understand. What are you asking? I like Bright Lights Chard if is of any help.
  
  Just re-read your post and I think I can figure out the question, this veg' is also called Swiss Chard and seakale beet and is a brassica although I'm ready to be 'shot down' on this! The stalks can be cooked like celery and the leaves like spinach and it overwinters if protected with a cloche. Cheers, Tony.

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• Message 3

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  Posted by tattiebogle (U11728394) on Friday, 3rd December 2010

  Gem, if it's swiss chard or rainbow chard you mean, its seeds are similar to beetroot, it's not a brassica. I always thought it was one of those vegetables like lettuce that can be grown with anything, wherever you have room. Just remember, it's a useful vegetable in the autumn and early winter, so don't plant it where you might want to clear the ground completely at the end of the summer.
  
  Hope this helps.
  

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• Message 4

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  Posted by tattiebogle (U11728394) on Friday, 3rd December 2010

  PS you're not sad for planning now what you will grow next year. It's one of the pleasures of winter, sitting down on a cold evening in front of the fire with a glass of wine and pencil and paper and seed catalogues! Definitely not sad!

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• Message 5

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  Posted by tiptonnic (U14496053) on Tuesday, 7th December 2010

  I planted a couple of short rows of Swiss Chard (white stalk type) for the first time this year and it has been great and is really easy to look after, it seems that the more you cut the more it grows. It's supposed to be really hardy, but I'll let you know if it has survived once the ground thaws but it was certainly still going strong until mid Nov.

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  Posted by grandcottagegardener (U14258183) on Tuesday, 7th December 2010

  I want to grow some chard, this goes with the roots yes 
  
  Yes, it does go into the allotment section for roots. I grow bright lights and it's very easy to grow. As it tends to be a 'cut and come again' veg you don't need too many plantings in your allotment.
  
  Someone gave a recipe for swiss chard last year - chopped with onion, fried, and seasoned with chilli. Makes a very nice topping to put on toast for a lunch time snack.

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• Message 7

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  Posted by Vixxihibiscus (U13865184) on Friday, 10th December 2010

  I grow bright lights too Gem,
  
  It's so pretty on the plot with all its different colours. As someone said above I treat it as a gap filler and pop some in wherever a gap needs filled. They make lovely salad leaves as babies (again a colourful addition for a salad) and I use as a spinach replacement in the winter, they last right through and are extremely good for you.
  
  A highly recommended addition to your plot.
  
  Incidentally planning your plot is not sad, it's super. I'm a garden geek and proud!

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  Posted by 7magpies (U8108459) on Friday, 10th December 2010

  Certainly not sad to be planning now! It's one of the most comforting ways of passing a cold winter evening.
  
  Chard is in the spinach family and I don't think it matters much where you put it. It doesn't, for example, get attacked by carrot fly or parsnip canker so there's no particular reason to put it with the roots.
  Just remember it will be in the ground for a full year if you're lucky - I don't dig mine out until after planting the new seeds in the spring. I haven't checked this year's crop, but last year mine went a bit soggy after the frosts, so I clipped it back and it put out more new leaves for use in the early spring.

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• Message 9

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  Posted by margaretstar (U14415248) on Sunday, 12th December 2010

  Swiss chard will also do quite well in areas that are a bit shaded. It can be put anywhere really. I grow mine at one end of the "salad leaves" row which is a mix of a lot of things and gets rotated through the plot with the cabbage rows.
  

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