Aaahhh, Swiss chard. It’s one of my most favorite vegetables. I have childhood memories of my grandfather eating boiled chard with butter, salt, pepper, and a dash of vinegar, and I’ve had a fondness for it ever since. We always grow Bright Lights chard, which has beautiful, brightly colored, red and yellow stems, along with the more typical white stalks. It tastes pretty much the same as regular chard, but we choose this variety because the colors are just so lovely. We planted more of this year than we often do, with the intent of getting a lot in the freezer, and I’m thrilled to have an abundant crop of it. It’s also lasting a remarkably long time this summer. We started harvesting it in mid-July, and haven’t stopped since. I put up our most recent batch just a couple of days ago, and there is still a lot more to go. I have a feeling that part of its longevity may be due to the weather this summer. With the exception of that fairly brief, very hot spell we had a month or so ago, when the chard was still young, we’ve had a relatively mild summer, which may have helped the chard hold on for longer and not bolt immediately. Who knows–that’s just my theory, but in any case I’m thankful for the prolonged abundance, and for it’s bright, cheerful beauty gracing our garden.
Timothy
July 28th, 2014 at 20:01