I think people forget why April showers bring May flowers. This weekend was a great example — Saturday was a great day to work in the garden. Since then, we’ve had 2 great days of rain — .9 inches on Sunday and .16 on Monday. That’s a full inch of rain. With freshly planted seeds in the ground, the rain will keep the seeds moist and encourage the seeds to sprout.
Among many vegetables in the ground on this Saturday was Swiss Chard. I’ve become a big fan of swiss chard after growing it. It’s another real easy vegetable to grow. Also called silverbeet, the leaves have a hint of beet flavor to them (they are in the same family as the beet). Sauteed, chard tastes much like spinach.
The picture below shows the plants much further apart then I’ve planted them. Since I’m using the square foot gardening principles, it will be grown tightly. I plan to cut some leaves early for baby chard and let others grow out. I’ve found chard doesn’t get bitter or change taste too much as it grows, so there is no need cut it too early.
Here is the description of the variety I’m growing:
Red Chard growing in the garden of Slow Food Nation, Photo by mercedesfromtheeighties
Five Color Silverbeet (Rainbow Chard)
60 days. A beautiful chard, its colors are brilliant (pink, yellow, orange, red and white). This chard originated in Australia. Very mild, ornamental, and tasty. Great for market growers and specialty markets. Pretty enough to plant in the flower garden, so delicious, one of our favorite greens! (Sold in stores as “Bright Lights”)
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I grow a heat resistant Swiss Chard as a border next to my pool here in Mississippi. It’s attractive and edible!