Chard: the Miracle Vegetable
This stuff is amazing. It's really nutritious, tastes good, easy to cook, decorative in the kitchen garden, isn't fazed by hot, humid summers, and shrugs off the first few frosts of late Autumn. Oh, and it's easy to start from seed right in the bed. I just cut a bunch of it to have as part of Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. The stems are like cooked celery (but less stringy) and the leaves cook just like spinach. This is Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' with stems of red, orange, yellow and white.
I enjoy your blog. I grew up in Silver Spring and it took me 20+ years to stop persuading lilacs to thrive in Zone 9. Reading your blog takes me back.
Posted by: weeping sore | December 09, 2007 at 05:20 PM
I enjoy your blog. I grew up in Silver Spring and it took me 20+ years to stop persuading lilacs to thrive in Zone 9. Reading your blog takes me back.
Posted by: weeping sore | December 09, 2007 at 05:20 PM
I didn't know chard was easy from seed. I must try that. It lasts all winter in Savannah and is oh, so pretty. I sympathize with weeping sore who spent 20 years trying to persuade lilacs to grow in zone 9!
Posted by: Karen Arms | December 28, 2007 at 08:45 AM
I have not found a single bad thing about chard yet. I sowed the seed right in the bed.
About lilacs: I've been hearing that some are even having trouble with them here in Maryland zone 7, but I haven't had any. My one lilac, 'President Grevy', blooms predictably every spring.
Posted by: Julia | December 28, 2007 at 11:56 AM
Your photography is so beautiful....One thing about chard, though. Don't use it to make stock...it turns the water red!
Posted by: Susan Reimer | March 25, 2009 at 04:07 PM
Thanks, and I'll have to keep that tip in mind.
Posted by: Julia | March 26, 2009 at 06:56 AM