As June 21 hit its stride with long , hot days , the production of leafy greens often slack or stops as plants decamp and cook to set seed .
But you’re able to stretch the season for brisk , crisp greens with a tardy planting of nerveless - season favorites like Swiss chard .
Chard comes in a rainbow of bright hued colour , with a highly attractive decorative value for the free fall garden , as well as outstanding nutrition and kitchen uses .
Photo by Lorna Kring.
It ’s one of those loose and fast - turn vegetable that can deliver multiple harvests per season .
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flavour improve with nerveless Nox , and plant can even withstand a tripping frost – but not a sustained freeze .
Photo by Lorna Kring.
Let ’s travail into the detail on how and when to plant Swiss chard for delicious harvest in the decline .
What You’ll Learn
Swiss Chard Primer
This beautiful , savoyed leafy green is a phallus of theAmaranthaceae familythat ’s native to the Mediterranean .
A close congener of the beet , it has foliation with an erect growth drug abuse that develops in a fanning strain , and has been bred to underline the prominent eatable leave and stems .
The root are non - bulbous and do n’t form an undercover storage organ like typical common beet .
Also know as leafy common beet , perpetual spinach , papistical cabbage , rhubarb chard , seakale beetroot , and Sicilian beet , Swiss chard is a biennial that prime and sets seed in its second year .
Cultivars are vividly gloss , with orange , pinkish , blood-red , yellow , and blank root and vein that counterpoint with and complement lovely leaf of bronze , immature , or purpleness .
Eaten raw , it has a mild , sweet earthy tang with a hint of bitterness that ’s quite like Spinacia oleracea . make , the flavor mellows and leaves lose their rancor .
The unripe sister greens add tang and nutrients to salad and smoothies , and large leaves are usually enjoyed freshly steam or added to pasta , rice , soups , and stews . Chard can also be canned , dried , or frigid .
It grows well in both nerveless and hot temperatures , but prefers the cool even of spring and capitulation , with nighttime temperature roll between 60 and 70 ° farad .
Swiss chard is noted for its splendid nutritionary value , with high levels of vitamins A , C , and K , plus many antioxidants and mineral .
Plants mature in 50 to 75 day , depending on the cultivar , and frequent snip encourages new leaf organization .
Timing Your Fall Crop
For a fall harvest , direct sow seeds in beds orcontainersfrom mid - July to mid - August , or up until about 50 days before your first autumn icing escort , depending on the variety that you choose .
Ideally , you require flora to get on a couple of week before the first frost to avoid damage from an former freeze . Mature flora can withstand a light icing but not a hard freezing .
chronological succession planting until mid - August can help to pass your harvest time , provided freezing temperatures remain at embayment .
Growing Tips
Adhere to the following tips for a successful autumn crop :
For full point on cultivation , turn back out ourSwiss chard growing guidebook .
How and When to Harvest
Cut stems with a knifelike knife to about two inches above the soil , submit care not to remove more than one-half of the root word from each industrial plant at one sentence .
Chard is recognize as a “ cut - and - come - again ” crop . That is , the old outer leave are harvested a few at a time from each plant , while the crank new growth is leave in place to grow and reap later on .
This method encourages uninterrupted unexampled growth , but care should be taken not to damage the central depot bud .
Alternatively , all of the parting can be harvested at once when matured . Cut all stem to two inches , leaving the base and roots in place – if temperatures delay above freezing , plants often set another light flush of low leaves .
For the best flavor and quality , rationalise back full - sized plants when they reach 12 to 14 inches – the flavor start to worsen when overgrown .
Read more about harvesting chard here .
Fall Cultivars to Select
harvest selection can be made based on color , the chassis and texture of foliage , and size of it , but for gloam crop I recommend those with a short growing season of 50 to 55 sidereal day . Give one or more of these cultivar a try :
Bright Lights
A 1998 All American Selections succeeder , ‘ Bright Lights ’ is a cultivar distinguished by multi - hued root word of amber , orangish , pink , regal , crimson , and white .
‘ Bright Lights ’
A vigorous and adaptable cultivar , it has a meek flavor interchangeable to spinach . Plants grow 18 to 24 inches tall and can be picked in 20 days for sister special K , or 55 years for full - sized plants .
Open - pollinated seeds in a variety of software sizes areavailable at on-key Leaf Market .
Lucullus
With an above - norm abundance of easy green , mid - sized leaves on lily-white stalks , ‘ Lucullus ’ is an old - time heirloom preferent with a meek , slightly bitter feeling .
‘ Lucullus ’
Very tolerant of passion and cold-blooded , the vigorous plants produce to 18 to 22 column inch . Harvest sister greens in 25 days and full - sized works in 50 days .
break up up seeds at on-key Leaf Market .
Orange
Perfect for the autumn garden , ‘ Orange ’ features bright orange stalks and vein with rich , recondite fleeceable leave that have a crumpled texture and a mild , earthy savour .
‘ Orange ’
Adaptable and solid , the mid - sized plant grow eight to 14 inches . supply ship common can be cut in 25 days , or harvest full - sized plant life in 55 days .
Seeds in a miscellany of package sizes areavailable at True Leaf Market .
Perpetual Spinach
An heirloom assortment with lightly rumpled leaves and white-hot stems , ‘ Perpetual Spinach ’ is a rewarding plant that increase production the more it ’s cut .
‘ ageless Spinach ’
With a delicious spinach plant - comparable flavor , as the name suggests , and first-class dusty hardiness , the stocky plant life grow eight to 10 - inch stalk and have mid - sized ovate leave .
harvest time cutter salad William Green in 25 day , or wait 50 days for industrial plant to mature .
Seeds areavailable at Eden Brothers .
Red Magic
With vibrant cranberry cherry stems topped with deep green to maroon leaves , ‘ Red Magic ’ throw a bewitching spell .
‘ Red Magic ’
The savoyed leaf of this hybrid are flavorful and riotous growing , on plants that reach 12 to 18 inches in acme . Harvest ship’s boat salad green in 25 days or ripe plants in 55 day .
Seed packets areavailable at Burpee .
Ruby Red
Aptly named , ‘ Ruby Red ’ has glorious reddish stems and veins that add eye - take in entreaty to the deep dark-green and highly savoyed leaves .
‘ Ruby Red ’
Prolific plants , this heirloom can grow up to 22 in tall . The leafage are excellent in salads and smoothies , or they may be enjoy steamer .
crop baby commons after 25 day , or expect a get time of 55 days for full - sized plants .
Seeds areavailable at True Leaf Market .
Yellow
Flavorful and pretty as an ornamental , ‘ Yellow ’ starts out with orangish stalks that change to brightly yellow as they mature , topped with highly savoyed , morose green leaves .
‘ Yellow ’
The mid - sized leaves grow on bow of eight to 14 inch . youthful leaf can be harvest in 25 days , or expect 55 day for ripe plants .
you may buy seeds at True Leaf Market .
One Cool Crop
With grand rumpled leaves , flavorful nutrition , and heat andcold permissiveness , Swiss chard is one nerveless harvest for the autumn garden !
A bang-up option for late season greens , you ’ll sleep together how rapidly it grows in response to the crisp evenings of former pin – and the colors are great .
flora ejaculate in ecological succession for a unfaltering harvest , and remember to water seedlings liberally . After that , just cull on a regular basis , and enjoy !
And for more selective information aboutgrowing Swiss chard , contain out these guides next :
Photo by Lorna Kring © involve the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . in the beginning published August 20th , 2020 . Last update August 11th , 2023 . Product photos via Burpee , Eden Brothers , and True Leaf Market . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Lorna Kring
