- Large green curled leaves
Biennial normally grown as an annual, growing to 70cm. A very popular home garden variety. Large tender green curled leaves with white ribs and stalks. Excellent flavour. Frost tolerant. Silver beet is also known as "Swiss Chard" and is often confused with "Spinach".
Swiss chard is a green that many seasoned gardeners claim everyone must grow. A prolific grower with a long cropping season, it tolerates partial shade, poor soil and inattention. Chard is a cool weather vegetable and will withstand a mild frost. It also puts up with heat and with dry weather. It does well in containers and has a long harvest period, it will give tasty spinach type leaves for up to twelve months from a single sowing.
Chard is probably the most under appreciated of all vegetables, vitamin rich and nutritious. In recipes the leaves can be used in any dish that calls for spinach and the white stalks can be creamed like asparagus. Eat the young leaves in salads and save the larger leaves for steaming, stir-frying, or chopping and sautéing. Chard is one of the easiest of all vegetables to grow and is a good choice for the beginner or busy gardener.
Planting Guide:
| Method: | Sow direct |
| Planting Depth: | 15mm |
| Season: | Spring, summer and autumn (anytime outside of frost or excessive heat) |
| Germination: | 5-10 days at 10-30°C |
| Life Cycle: | Hardy Biennial |
| Row Spacing: | 50cm |
| Plant Spacing: | 30cm |
| Position: | Full sun, moist well drained soil |
| Days to Maturity/Flowering: | 70 days |
Keep well watered. Cut leaves and stalks as required. Remove any flower stems as soon as they appear. Is susceptible to downy mildew and leaf spot.