I knew Swiss chard was a cool-season crop, but we’ve had temps in the mid-20s overnight already and my plants continue to send up new leaves.
This relative of the beet family provides vitamins A, C, and K and is full of carotenoids that can help protect the eyes against age-related macular degeneration.
I didn’t eat as much of my little 1 foot by 2 foot crop of plants as I had intended to when I sowed the seeds in May (at one point I felt so guilty about it that I almost removed the chicken wire so at least the bunnies could enjoy it!). But now that I know how easy this vegetable is to grow, I will try to do better next summer.
I grew ‘Bright Lights’ which is an AAS winner with beautiful stems in shades of red, gold, pink, orange, white and purple. The plants grow about 16 inches tall, and you can direct sow the seeds into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring.