Chard: choosing a variety for planting. Swiss chard Swiss chard when to start eating and what parts

Many people don’t even know about the benefits of Swiss chard. For most people, the vegetable is associated with a burgundy root vegetable that has a sweetish taste. But few people know about the existence of leaf beets, which have a lot of useful qualities and properties.

What is chard

Chard is a type of beet that is not a root vegetable, but large green leaves with red or yellow petioles. The second name of the plant is “leaf beet”. The culture belongs to the amaranth family. Chard is not only flavorful, but also very useful plant with a slightly bitter taste.

Chard is considered both a vegetable and a green.

This type of beet was developed in the Mediterranean regions. Over time, it began to be grown all over the world: in Europe, America, Japan, Latin America and India.

Chard contains:

• vitamins (A, B, C);
• macroelements important for humans (calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium);
• trace elements (copper, zinc, iron).

In addition to these components, the vegetable has many more useful substances that are simply necessary for the proper development of the human body.

There are two most common varieties of Swiss chard:

1. Swiss. An early species that has a rich aroma. The variety is distinguished by red veins.
2. Schnitt. It is a frost-resistant plant. The plant is characterized by rapid growth.

If you grow Swiss chard in a flowerpot, you need to provide it with additional lighting.

As for growing, chard can be grown not only on, but also on a window, in a flowerpot. The plant looks very impressive and will become a real decoration of the site.

The vegetable reproduces using seeds. Chard is a frost-resistant plant. Therefore, you can get the first harvest in the spring.

Benefits of Swiss chard and contraindications

The benefits of chard are even described in the manuscripts of Aristotle, which means that the plant was used as early as the 4th century BC. e. IN modern world Most people grow chard as a decorative item and don’t even realize that they have incredible useful qualities. The French compare the taste of leafy plates with spinach, and plant cuttings with.

Chard is especially useful in spring. It is able to compensate for the lack of vitamins and helps to invigorate the body after the long winter months.

Useful features:

1. The product contains a lot of calcium and other vitamins, which helps strengthen bone tissue and restore the structure of hair and teeth.
2. Chard leaves contain iron, which means that consuming them will protect against anemia and normalize hemoglobin.
3. The product has an excellent effect on the cardiovascular system, relieves bruises on the body, prevents internal bleeding, controls normal blood clotting and helps create new blood cells.
4. Beets help normalize blood sugar levels, thanks to the acids and fiber present in the plant.
5. With the help of antioxidants, chard resists the formation of cancer cells.
6. The plant activates brain performance. This happens thanks to B vitamins.
7. Improves vision, helps with eye diseases.
8. Chard can be used to relieve inflammatory processes.
9. Promotes the production of sebum, which nourishes hair follicles. As a result, the hair becomes strong and shiny.

Like all plants, chard has its contraindications. It is not recommended for use by people who have an individual intolerance to the vegetable.

Freshly squeezed juice can cause nausea, drowsiness and hypotension. Therefore, before you start using it, it is better to let it brew.

It is not advisable to abuse chard for people with kidney and gallbladder problems. Swiss chard can accumulate natural nitrates. Therefore, in order not to harm yourself, you need to thoroughly wash the leaves under running water.

Where is Swiss chard used?

The vegetable is widely used in alternative medicine and cooking. Chard helps with purulent abscesses and burns. It is also indicated for eye inflammation. To do this, apply ground leaves of the crop to the problem area.

Chard compresses improve vision and prevent cataracts. It also helps with pain in the teeth.

Use the juice to remove freckles and warts. Grated chard root promotes hair growth and prevents baldness.

Chard in cooking

Due to its pleasant taste, chard is widely used in the culinary industry. The vegetable is prepared in most countries around the world. Mostly young leaves and cuttings of the plant are added to salads. The calorie content of the product is low, so it can be safely added to dietary dishes.

It is better to use freshly picked leaves, because during storage they will lose their attractive appearance.

Heat treatment of the vegetable is similar to working with spinach. It is important to remember that you need to spend more time cooking the petioles than the leaves. Beets go well with other vegetables, cereals and meat.

A vinaigrette is prepared from Swiss chard and added to beetroot soup. Also mix chopped beet leaves with green onions and season with sour cream. Boiled and then breaded beet cuttings have a pleasant taste.

In Italy they cook with young chard a traditional dish“Beete”, which means “Red”. The dish is called so because the leaves of the vegetable have small, red stripes.

Chard is a unique plant that contains a huge number of useful components. In addition, it is low in calories, which is important for people watching their figure. Eating chard will benefit the entire body and prevent many diseases.

Medicinal beet chard in the garden - video

Chard, or Japanese beet, together with table, sugar and fodder beets, has a common ancestor, whose homeland is the Mediterranean coast.

By appearance Swiss chard is more similar to spinach, which is why it is often called spinach beets. This crop is valuable not only for its nutrient composition, but also because the crop can be harvested over a long period of time: in early summer with seedlings, in summer and autumn from open ground, in autumn and winter- due to forcing greenery into storage areas.

Among vegetable crops, chard- one of the most ancient plants. The beginning of its cultivation probably dates back to the Ancient Mesopotamia, around 2000 BC. e. In Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome it was widely used as a vegetable and ornamental plant. In Russia it appeared in the 16th-17th centuries.

Chard is now widely grown in countries Western Europe, USA, Japan. It is not clear why, but this hardy, productive, healthy and tasty plant, which does not require special care, is not popular among gardeners and gardeners (and these are mainly elderly people). But in vain! Chard clearly deserves a better fate.

Chard does not form a fleshy root crop, like beets; it has a taproot, strongly branching root, almost never thickens, completely immersed in the soil. Therefore, the whole plant is pulled out with great difficulty. Unlike beets, chard roots are coarse and inedible.

Chard comes in leaf and petiole varieties. Leafy- power socket with big amount smooth or wavy leaves with narrow petioles. In petiole chard, the petioles and main veins of the leaf blade are expanded, and the width of the petioles can reach 5 cm.

In the first year, chard forms a branched root system and a powerful rosette of leaves. They are much larger than those of table beets. Their color is very diverse: dark green, yellowish-green, reddish. Depending on the varietal characteristics, the petioles are white, light green, yellow, and red.

Formation large number leaves are possible only on rich nutrients soils. In the second year, chard forms a flower stem up to 1.2-1.5 m high, on which seeds are formed, very similar to beet seeds.

Chard- unpretentious plant, significantly more cold-resistant than table beets. Seed germination begins at a temperature of 6...7°C, seedlings tolerate light frosts down to -1...2°C, and adult plants- up to -4...5°C. The optimal temperature for the crop is 22...25°C. Chard is light-loving and relatively drought-resistant. It needs the most moisture during swelling and germination of seeds and rapid growth of leaf mass.

Depending on the shape of the leaves, in cooking, chard is prepared like spinach, while chard, whose leaf petioles are mainly eaten, is cooked like spinach.- like asparagus.

Chard prefers well-lit areas. It requires fertile soils, well fertilized with nitrogen and potassium in the fall. On lungs poor in humus, as well as on heavy clay and acidic soils, its leaves become rough and tasteless.

The preparation of the beds begins in the fall, immediately after harvesting the predecessor. The soil is dug up to a depth of at least 30 cm (preferably deeper), since the chard root is very long.

For digging, add a bucket of half-rotted compost or manure per 1 m2, 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 1 tsp. potash fertilizers. If necessary, lime the soil. On heavy soils, it is necessary to add an additional 1 m2 bucket of river sand and peat.

Chard seeds germinate slowly, so they need to be prepared for sowing. To do this, they are soaked for 36-48 hours in water at a temperature of 35...40°C. The water must be changed 3-4 times.

Chard is sown when the soil at a depth of 3-4 cm warms up to 7...8°C, i.e., almost together with planting potatoes. At earlier dates, the crops must be covered with film. We should also not forget that when sowing early, low air temperatures can cause bolting of plants.

When sowing chard, the row spacing depends on the crop variety. When growing leaf varieties, row spacing is 25 cm, petiolate- at least 40 cm. In small beds, chard is often sown in nests, with a distance between them for leaf varieties - 20 cm, for petiole varieties- 40 cm. Seed depth 2-3 cm. Some gardeners grow chard, like beets, as seedlings. It is planted in the ground when at a depth of 10 cm the soil temperature is above 10°C.

Shoots appear in 10-15 days. Since chard seeds, like beets, are a cluster containing 2 or more seeds enclosed in a common shell, its crops usually require severe thinning.

Leaf varieties are thinned twice: first to a distance of 8-10 cm, then- 20-25 cm between plants. Petiole varieties are thinned a second time when the plants have 5-6 leaves, leaving a distance of 30-35 cm between plants.

To get a good harvest of chard, the plants should be fed 2-3 times during the summer with an infusion of various weeds that you collect while weeding in the garden or vegetable garden. To do this, place a barrel in a sunny place, fill it a third with grass, and fill it with water. It is better if the outside of the barrel is painted black. After 3-4 days, fermentation will begin in the barrel; after a week, the fertilizer for feeding any garden or garden crops will be ready. In terms of quality, it is slightly inferior to the ready-made mullein solution.

During the growing season, chard needs regular watering and loosening, although its soil moisture requirements are moderate. Systematic watering of chard promotes the rapid formation of juicy large leaves and tasty, tender petioles.

Harvesting of leafy chard varieties begins 50-60 days after sowing the seeds and periodically continues until late autumn. The more often you cut the leaves, the more abundant their growth. You can remove no more than a quarter of the green mass at the same time so that the plant does not become depleted.

The leaves must be cut together with the petioles, without touching the core leaves and without leaving columns that can quickly rot. Petiole varieties of chard begin to be harvested after 90-100 days, when the leaves have fully expanded. Chard can remain in the soil for a long time without losing its qualities.

Chard is of particular interest for obtaining early greens, since in the spring of next year it quickly forms a lot of leaf mass. To promote its formation, it is necessary to hill up the plants in the fall and mulch the top with peat chips.

For winter forcing, chard is dug up in the fall, the outer yellowed leaves are removed and buried in the basement. As needed, you can plant them in a box and start forcing the chard greens on the windowsill.

Chard in home cooking is used mainly like sorrel, but its sourness is immeasurably more subtle, piquant and “intelligent.” And due to the fact that chard contains a lot of sugars, its leaves can be fermented for the winter.

V. Shafransky

Chard, kale - decoration of our garden

Chard, or chard, in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece was known as Roman cabbage. Homeland of the plant- Mediterranean coast. In culture for at least 4000 years. The Romans actively spread the cultivation of chard throughout the conquered countries. It is known that, not without the help of Roman legionnaires, in those days it was successfully cultivated in the floodplain of the Rhine River; later the culture began to move into neighboring regions and countries. Now it is widely cultivated in European countries, the USA, Latin America, as well as in India, Japan, etc.

I suggest everyone who wants to make their garden not only nutritious, but also decorative, pay attention to chard. In the end, not all gardeners prepare root beets for the winter, and for summer consumption its close relative - the nutritious and healing beet chard - is even more suitable. The leaves and petioles of this crop are used as food; its roots are rough for this purpose. The leaves and petioles of chard are rich in proteins, sugars, and valuable mineral salts (calcium, iron). Although there is less iron in chard than in spinach, there is a wider range of its uses in cooking.

So, what is chard rich in? It contains 10-11% dry matter, including fats, sugars, 40 g/% vitamin C. 10 g/% carotene, vitamins PP, B1, B2, and a lot of betaine. For medicinal purposes, leaf beets are used in the same way as table beets. It is a highly alkaline product and is recommended for anemia, poor circulation, kidney and liver diseases, and diabetes. The juice squeezed from the leaves and petioles has long been used to stop bleeding and resolve tumors. A decoction of leaves and petioles is used to treat pneumonia and respiratory diseases, and gargle for sore throats.

BIOLOGICAL PORTRAIT. CHARD VARIETIES

Chard- biennial plant of the quinoaceae, or goosefoot family. In the first year of life, it develops a rosette of leaves and a branched root, and in the second year- flower stem 1.2-1.8 m high. Chard has larger leaves than table beets, the petioles of its leaves are fleshy, of various colors and widths, and the flowers are small, greenish or white, the fruits- nuts ripen in September. In areas with mild winters, plants remain in the soil, but in Non-Black Earth conditions, the roots often freeze out.

A high yield of juicy leaves and petioles can only be obtained on rich fertile soil. On very light, poor, as well as heavy, clayey soils, chard leaves become coarse and tasteless (sour). The optimal soil acidity for this crop should be no lower than pH 6. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Benefits of chard:

It tolerates summer heat better than other green crops;

More cold-resistant than table beets.

Its seeds germinate at a temperature of 6-7°C. In the phase of 3-4 true leaves, plants tolerate short-term frosts down to -3°C; in the fall, adult plants can withstand the same short-term frosts down to -6°C, but with longer exposure to low temperatures they die. The optimal air temperature for the growth and development of chard is 15-23°C, during the flowering period 20-23°C. At relatively low temperatures, the stems become pink, and at high temperatures- green.

There are two known forms of chard: petiole and leaf. Leaf blades and petioles of chard, depending on the variety, have a color from light green to intense red. The leaf form produces a rosette of leaves 20 cm high, and is more precocious than the petiolate form. The growing season is 50-55 days. The petiole form has larger leaves with a somewhat curly surface, the central vein is highly developed and gradually turns into a wide, juicy and fleshy petiole. The growing season is 75-80 days. In our country, the most common petiole varieties are:

Scarlet - Color-resistant. The first collection of leaves can be carried out 38-42 days after emergence; 80-90 days pass before final harvesting. The rosette of leaves is spreading, 60 cm high. The leaves are violet-green, slightly bubbly, large. Petioles are crimson-red up to 27 cm long. The yield of leaves and petioles in open ground reaches 3-5.5 kg per 1 m2, in greenhouses and hotbeds- up to 10 kg.

Belavinka - from mid- to mid-late ripening, resistant to flowering in low temperatures, moderately affected by pests, weakly affected by powdery mildew. The leaves are long-petiolate, large, slightly vesicular. The petioles are white with a light pink and greenish tint, without anthocyanin, up to 23 cm long. The weight of one plant is 1.5 kg.

Green - very good for winter sowing, in this case the period from sowing to leaf regrowth is 180-200 days, from germination to harvesting 90-120 days. The rosette of leaves is semi-vertical. Leaves are 60 cm long, green, glossy, without anthocyanin, medium vesicular. Petioles 25 cm long.

Red - with winter sowing, the period from sowing to leaf regrowth is 180-200 days, from germination to the beginning of technical ripeness 90-120 days. The rosette of leaves is semi-vertical. The leaf blade is 60 cm long, light green in color with anthocyanin, glossy, slightly bubbly with red veining. Petiole 25 cm long, red. The weight of one plant is up to 1.2 kg.

Emerald - the period from germination to harvest is 60 days. The rosette of leaves is vertical, compact, 45 cm high. The leaves are medium-sized, light green, medium-vesicular. Petioles are about 30 cm long, wide, green, slightly curved, juicy. The weight of petioles from one plant is about 1 kg.

Bride - relatively drought- and cold-resistant, mid-season variety. The first collection of leaves and petioles is 55-65 days after emergence. The rosette of leaves is vertical, compact, up to 60 cm high, the leaves are dark green, slightly bubbly. The petioles are wide, white, with a golden tint, 30-45 cm long, moderately curved. The weight of one socket is about 1 kg.

Gorgeous - the period from germination to harvest is 60 days. The rosette is vertical, compact, the leaves are large, dark green, with a wavy surface. Petioles are 30-40 cm long, bright red, slightly curved, juicy. The weight of petioles per plant is 800-900 g.

Ruby - the period from germination to harvest is 86 days. The rosette is compact, vertical, 45 cm high. The leaves are medium-sized, dark green with purple veins, medium-vesicular. Petioles are more than 30 cm long, bright red, slightly curved, juicy. The weight of petioles per plant is more than 700 g.

HOW TO GROW BEAUTIFUL AND TASTY CHARD

This crop has become fashionable in our country; chard is readily grown both as a medicinal and as an ornamental plant. However, let's return it to the garden.

Let's prepare the ground. The best predecessors chard: tomato, cucumber, peas, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes. It is not recommended to place it after beets and spinach, since these crops have common diseases. Chard can be returned to its previous place in circulation after 3-4 years. Soil preparation is carried out as for table beets:

In the fall, they dig to the depth of the arable layer, add 4-5 kg ​​of compost or other organic fertilizers, 20-25 g of superphosphate, 15-25 g of potassium chloride per 1 m2;

In spring, the soil is loosened shallowly (4-5 cm shallower than in autumn), an additional 10-15 g of ammonium sulfate is added per 1 m2; where organic fertilizers have not been applied since the fall, you need to give a full complex mineral fertilizer or pre-grow and incorporate green manure (green manure) into the soil of the future bed.

Let's prepare the seeds and sow them in open ground. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for up to 1.5 days, changing the water every 4-5 hours, or kept in a solution of epin-extra for 2 hours. Chard is sown simultaneously with beets or a little earlier, in early May, with dry seeds, later with sprouted seeds , spending 1-2 g of seeds per 1 m2. Sowing depth is 2-3 cm, single-line pattern with row spacing of 35-45 cm. After sowing, the bed should be mulched with humus. Shoots appear in 8-10 days.

Let's grow seedlings to get an early harvest. Seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of March, like cabbage or head lettuce seeds, in a tray with soil or a box to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Before germination, the box is covered with film and placed in warm place. As soon as the first shoots begin to appear, the seedlings are exposed to light, and the air temperature is reduced by 5-6°C so that the plants do not stretch out.

In the phase of the first true leaf, plants are planted in pots with a diameter of 6-8 cm or in the greenhouse soil, discarding the least developed, and therefore less productive, plants. From late April to mid-May, chard seedlings can be planted in open ground.

Caring for chard plants. It consists of thinning (1st- after the formation of 1-2 leaves- by 12-15 cm, 2nd- In 2 weeks- by 40 cm), weeding, loosening row spacing and soil around plants, abundant watering in dry weather, fertilizing. In the first half of the growing season, plants should be fed intensively, alternating organic and mineral fertilizers. From organic it is better to use mullein diluted with water in a ratio of 1:5, chicken manure (1:10), and from mineral- complex mineral fertilizers, for example Kemiru universal 2 or nitrophoska (50-60 g per 10 liters of water).

Supporters organic farming It is recommended to add ash by scattering it before watering or loosening the soil at the rate of one glass of ash per 1 m2, and to use infusions of nettles and weeds. Feeding is repeated every 10-12 days, starting from the second thinning or after 2 weeks. after planting the seedlings. The second feeding is carried out after 3-4 weeks. infusion of fermented grass with the addition of an extract from a suspension of superphosphate (20 g per 10 liters of water). The third feeding is in August with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Once every three years, compost is placed between the rows (2-4 kg per 1 m2).

Harvest. Chard produces greens throughout the growing season until the onset of severe frosts. Petioles and leaves reach maximum value in 2-3 months. after sowing. Harvesting begins when at least 10 leaves 20 cm high are formed on the plant. Leaves are collected as needed, while they are juicy and tender, cutting 3-4 of them from the outer part of each rosette at a height of 2.5-5 cm from the surface soil. At the same time, try not to damage the growth point. In the first half of summer, chard leaves can replace early cabbage. Sometimes all the leaves are cut off, leaving one growing point. After this, new leaves begin to grow. The plants are finally harvested in October. The roots are dug up for forcing.

Can chard be stored? Yes but not for long. Chard petioles are stored for a short time in the basement or refrigerator at a temperature of 0°C and a relative humidity of 95%. If you store them in plastic bags under the same conditions, they will last a little longer.

FORCING AND GROWING

Forcing is carried out on balconies, verandas, loggias or storage rooms at low temperatures, covering the plantings from light. For forcing before frost, chard is dug up with roots and the root collar is cut into a cone. Small roots weighing 50-60 g without leaves are planted densely, deepening so that the apical bud is visible. At a temperature of 20-25°C, leaves begin to grow in 2-3 days. The boxes are placed closer to the light. After 30-40 days, the plants form a large rosette of leaves. During the winter, 2-3 cuttings are carried out.

When growing chard, remove the wilted leaves and dig the rosettes into damp sand in the basement. Leaves and petioles from such plants can be used for food until January.

CHARD IN COOKING

Chard leaves are eaten fresh, stewed and boiled. Borscht, botvinya, soups, salads and vinaigrettes are prepared from them. The petioles serve as a substitute for asparagus and katran; they are fried in oil and fermented together with cabbage for the winter. At home you can prepare chard from:

PETIOLE SALAD

500 g chard stalks, 8 anchovies in oil, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 hard-boiled eggs, a piece of parsley.

For the sauce- 3-4 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of weak wine vinegar, pepper, salt. Instead of salt, you can add a little anchovy oil.

Thoroughly wash the chard petioles separated from the leaves, let the water drain, cut them into strips 5-6 cm long, put them in a salad bowl, add chopped anchovies, crushed garlic and sauce. Cover with a lid and let sit in the refrigerator for half an hour- hour. To serve, garnish with egg slices and finely chopped parsley.

STEWED CHARD

500 g chard stalks, 50 g butter, 20 g parsley, 50 g grated crackers, salt to taste.

Wash the petioles, first cut lengthwise, and then the resulting “sticks” into pieces 4-5 cm long. Simmer in a small amount of salted water until tender. Ready dish pour melted water over it butter, sprinkle with parsley and toasted grated breadcrumbs.

PASTE

2 kg chard petioles, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon each of salt and citric acid, several pieces of lemon or orange peel, 300 g of prunes, 1 cup of raisins, 3-4 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil.

Finely chop the chard stalks or grate them on a coarse grater. Place in an enamel 4-5 liter pan. Place orange or lemon peels on the sides and on top of the chard mass. Place sugar, salt, citric acid. Pour 1 liter of boiling water and cook for half an hour. Rinse the prunes and raisins well. Add prunes to the pan and cook for another 30 minutes. Pour vegetable oil into it, add raisins and boil for another 3-5 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate. Serve the next day as a cold dish on its own or spread on sandwiches.

SOUP

For 1 liter of water, 200 g of chard leaves, 1-2 small beets, 1 fresh cucumber, 1 egg, 75 g of sour cream, a bunch of onions, dill, parsley, 1 horseradish root, 1 teaspoon of citric acid, salt and sugar according to taste.

Wash chard leaves in cold water, boil in salted boiling water until soft, adding young beets, boiled and rubbed through a sieve, for color. Fresh cucumbers, green onions, dill, finely chop parsley. Grate horseradish root. Add all ingredients to the pan with the broth and boiled chard, stir, add citric acid, sugar, and salt to taste. Serve in a deep plate, topped with sliced ​​hard-boiled eggs and sour cream.

CAVIAR

200 g chard leaves, 50 g carrot leaves, 200 g wild garlic, 50 g vegetable oil, salt to taste.

Wash the green leaves of carrots, wild garlic, and chard thoroughly, chop them and saute them in vegetable oil 3 min. Serve as a side dish.

CHARD WITH NUTS

500 g chard, 1 cup shelled nuts, 2 cloves garlic, 300 g onions salad (semi-sweet) variety, 3-4 sprigs of dill, 1 lemon, hot pepper, salt to taste.

Boil clean chard leaves in boiling water for 35-40 minutes, then drain in a colander, cool, squeeze out the water and chop. Crush the nuts, add finely chopped garlic and pepper, as well as salt, chopped onion and dill. Combine everything with chopped chard, stir and sprinkle with lemon juice.

A. Lebedeva , Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Moscow

(Garden and vegetable garden No. 6, 2008)

Swiss chard is not yet familiar to everyone, although it is quite widespread. Only the leaves of this plant are edible. To grow it on your site, you should familiarize yourself with the characteristics of leaf beets, as well as the necessary care for the plant.

Few gardeners plant it on their plots. Although it is healthy and perfect for eating. The leaves of the plant are not inferior in their content of nutrients and vitamins to table beets.

Growing Swiss chard is similar to growing regular beets. The existing differences relate only to planting and some issues of caring for it. This is a fairly unpretentious plant and produces a harvest all year round provided that they are grown in a heated greenhouse, and in open beds - from early spring until frost.

Description of chard

Swiss chard belongs to the Amaranth family, to the genus Beetroot. All parts of the plant are suitable for food, excluding the roots. This culture is popular in European countries, Japan and the USA.

Characteristics:

• In the first year of cultivation, this plant produces only green mass, and in the second year it forms seeds.
• The leaves taste like young beets.
• This plant is characterized by increased resistance to cold climatic conditions. It grows successfully at an air temperature of +6–7 degrees. This property makes it possible to sow seeds in open ground starting in April. If planting is carried out in mid-summer, then the greens are harvested in autumn.

Sowing of this crop is carried out both by seed and using seedlings in order to obtain an earlier harvest.

Please note that sowing chard can be done in the fall to harvest fresh greens in early spring.

Basic care requirements

This variety of greens does not require special conditions for growing. But in order to get a harvest in the form of large leaves, you should water regularly and apply a small amount of mineral fertilizers dissolved in water. It is not recommended to use nitrogen fertilizers because they cause the accumulation of nitrates in the foliage.

The collection of leaves is carried out gradually, cutting off the lower leaves. This is a biennial plant. Therefore, powerful roots can be left in the garden bed for the winter, covered with mulch. Next year in spring time the plant will again begin to produce shoots suitable for food.

Requirements for growing conditions

Chard grows on almost all types of soil substrates. But the highest foliage collection is on fertile areas. Therefore, when drawing up a crop rotation plan, it is necessary to provide for planting this crop in those areas that were fertilized with organic fertilizers the previous year.

Plants are planted when the soil warms up to a depth of 3–4 cm. When sowing in more early dates, the bed is covered with film to enhance germination. Typically, after plant germination, thinning is carried out. As the bushes grow, they are hilled to strengthen the root system.

Ways to Use Beet Chard Leaves

Since the green mass of chard contains a large amount of vitamins and substances beneficial to the human body, it is included in the diet in the same way as spinach or other leafy crops.

It is indicated for people diagnosed diabetes, as well as those who have low levels of red blood cells. The use of such leaves has a positive effect in case of increased blood pressure. It has been noticed that when green leaves are included in the diet, it strengthens the immune system, and also improves liver function.

Swiss chard greens are added as an ingredient to salads. Dense petioles are not thrown away either. They are stewed, used for pickling and even fermented for the winter.

Variety of chard varieties

Several varieties are used to grow Swiss chard. Their difference lies in the color of the petioles (green, scarlet), the ripening period and the purpose of the foliage. They are practically the same in terms of growing method.

Swiss red chard is planted starting in mid-April when temperatures are stable. The planted bed is covered with film. This method creates conditions for faster seed germination.

This variety is characterized by reduced activity in the flowering process. The first harvest can be harvested 40–45 days after planting the seeds. This variety of beet has a large rosette. Therefore, it must be thinned out as it grows. If the climatic conditions are dry, then watering is recommended.

The chard variety Izumrud has a relatively late ripening. It takes at least 2 months from planting seeds and sprouting to receiving the first harvest. This culture has small rosettes and very large, juicy petioles. They are often used for stewing or pickling.

Rules for planting and care

Preparation of beds for sowing chard is carried out in the autumn. Since the root system of this crop penetrates deep into the soil, deep digging should be done. It is optimal to dig to a depth of at least 30 cm. At this time, if necessary, add a small amount of humus and potassium fertilizer. If the soil is clayey and heavy, the leaves will be dense and rough. But if the soil is fertile enough, then it is not necessary to fertilize it.

Seed germination method

To ensure rapid germination of seeds planted in the ground, they are pre-soaked in water for 2 days. A handful of seeds is wrapped in damp gauze and placed in a warm place. If the soil is fertile and light, then soaking is not necessary.

Typically, the time for planting chard coincides with planting potatoes. At this time, the soil warms up to the required level.

In the case of planting seeds in spring in cold soil, this is fraught with the appearance of seed shoots rather than leaf mass. To protect plants from such a process, the bed is covered with film to maintain moisture and maintain temperature.

Seeds are planted in shallow furrows (about 3 cm). After 2 weeks, shoots appear. The first loosening is recommended after several leaves appear on the plants. At the same time, remove excess plants. Weaker plants should be pulled out.

This crop can be grown seedling method. Transplantation of seedlings into the ground is carried out after the soil has warmed to at least +10 degrees.

Subsequent care consists of timely loosening the soil and thinning the bushes. Chard is watered infrequently because it is drought tolerant. Only when the soil dries out significantly is additional moisture applied.

In heated greenhouses, Swiss chard can be produced even in winter. In closed greenhouses, watering is carried out approximately once a week. At the same time, liquid mineral fertilizers are applied. Too unacceptable for this culture heat, this can cause the process of formation of arrows.

Methods of crop propagation and harvesting

This crop is planted not only by seeds or seedlings, but also by roots. When planting with roots, leave the growing point on the surface. They quickly take root in conditions required humidity and temperature conditions, and subsequently form a green mass.

The roots are left in the soil until the next season. The bed with planted rhizomes is covered with mulch. With this method, it is possible to obtain a very early harvest; the first greens are cut already in mid-April in the southern regions.

Even after planting this plant in a pot on the windowsill, you can pick off the succulent leaves and use them to make salads. In this way, you can get a harvest of green foliage in any season of the year.

The leaves should be cut from the outside, since the rosette will continue to form a new green mass. The more leaves are cut, the more magnificent this bush subsequently becomes, releasing more and more new shoots.

Pests and diseases

Chard is considered a disease-resistant plant, but is sometimes affected by powdery mildew. This happens when planting in beds that have already been affected by a fungal infection.

The most dangerous pests are beet aphids and flea beetles. To cope with them, plants are sprayed with ready-made insecticides, infusion of onion scales or other well-known folk methods.

- biennial herbaceous plant, a subspecies of common beet, belonging to the subfamily Chenopodiaceae of the amaranth family. Distribution area: middle and southern latitudes of Europe. There are many varieties that vary in stem color (white, yellow, pale green and dark green) and leaf texture, which can be curly or smooth. This article will discuss the best chard varieties for growing in open ground.

Did you know?The cultivation of chard began in ancient Rome, while the consumption of beet roots began much later, only in the 10th century.

Chard "Lucullus"

Chard variety "Lucullus" has the following description: a mid-season variety with thick pale green petioles up to 25 cm long and a rosette of large, highly raised, highly vesicular leaves. The "Lucullus" variety is planted in April or late autumn. The mass of the productive part of the plant is from 500 g to 1200 g. It takes 3 months from plant germination to ripeness.

Important! The leaves of chard "Lucullus" contain a large amount of vitamin K, an excess of which in the human body can cause thrombophlebitis, blood viscosity, and varicose veins.

Chard "Scarlet"

A two-year hybrid, resistant to flowering in the first year of vegetation, produces the first harvest 35-40 days after planting, and becomes completely ripe in 90 days. Chard "Scarlet" has a spreading green-purple rosette of bubbly leaves up to 60 cm in size. The petioles have a crimson hue, they reach 25 cm in length, they are juicy and aromatic. The variety is characterized by high productivity: from 1 m2 in open ground you can collect up to 6 kg of petioles and leaves. in greenhouses - up to 10 kg.

Important!Aloe chard contains oxalic acid, so it needs to be boiled a little before eating. This should be done for people who have problems with the kidneys and gall bladder.

Chard "Red"

A mid-season variety with red leaves, frost-resistant, moisture-loving, and can grow on any soil. Swiss chard "Red" contains vitamins C, B1, 33, carotene, it is rich in mineral salts and proteins. Drinking "Red" chard juice allows you to dilate blood vessels, cleanses the liver and kidneys, forms red blood cells, improves memory, and slows down the aging process. Salads and soups are prepared from the leaves and petioles. It grows quickly and requires regular pruning.

Chard "Emerald"

Chard "Emerald" is an early-ripening variety with a large rosette of leaves, a dark green bubbly leaf plate and a petiole up to 30 cm. The time from germination to the start of harvesting is 70 days. Multiple cuttings are allowed. Salads are made from leaf beets of the "Emerald" variety, the leaves are stewed and pickled.

Chard "Argentata"

Chard "Argentata" is a variety that forms a powerful bush of many large leaves on wide and fleshy white petioles. The variety bears fruit for a very long time - from early June until late autumn. You can cut leaves and petioles several times during the growing season; the green mass is restored very quickly after each cutting.

The best soils for Argentata chard are loose and fertile loams.

Chard "Spinach" Early ripening domestic variety, forming a large rosette of tender juicy fleshy leaves.

Did you know?"Spinach" chard root contains a large amount of sugar, which was previously extracted by boiling. Much later, sugar began to be produced from beets.

Chard "Belovinka"

Chard "Belovinka" is a light-petioled domestic variety of leaf beet, intended for open and protected soil. Chard "Belovinka" is a mid-season variety; 83 days pass from germination to ripening. In open ground you can get up to 5 kg per 1 m2, in protected ground - up to 9 kg. The leaves can be used as salad greens, and the petioles for hot dishes.

Important!Eating Belovinka chard is beneficial for diabetes, anemia, high blood pressure, improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, and also speeds up metabolism.

Chard "Curly"

Chard beets of this variety are mid-season. It has highly bubbly leaves and wide white petioles. Grows best in loose soils, loves plenty of sunlight, needs regular thinning by 30-40 cm. If the owner plans to remove leaves from the “Curly” chard repeatedly, the plants in the rows should be left at a distance of 25 cm.

A plant like chard, or chard, is still not very common in our latitudes. Meanwhile, it is highly valued in Mediterranean countries. There it is eaten on a par with spinach, since its benefits for the human body are no less. In this article we offer you recommendations for planting and caring for leaf beets. garden plot. However, first, let’s figure out what chard is and what it is eaten with, so to speak.

Did you know? Chard is an ancient plant. It was cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It’s not for nothing that this crop is often called Roman cabbage. Later it was introduced to other European countries.

Description of chard and its types

– a special variety of beet, which, unlike its usual relative, has inedible roots and edible leaves and petioles. This biennial vegetable crop belongs to the goosefoot family. Growing chard lettuce is practiced in the USA, Europe, Japan, India and other countries. The leaves of Swiss chard are juicy, fleshy, 30-40 cm high. Depending on the variety, they have different colors - red, green, green-pink, green-violet. This plant does not produce root crops at all. There are two types of chards: stem (petiolate, veined) and leaf (schnitt chard, chard). In stem plants, along with leaves, petioles are also suitable for food. They are wide and fleshy, and also have different colors: green, yellow, red.

Did you know? Chard is a valuable food product due to the fact that its leaves and petioles contain a large amount of vitamins (C, B1, B2, A, K), iron salts, phosphorus, sodium, and calcium. Chard is a low-calorie vegetable, with only 19 kcal per 100 g.

There are many varieties lettuce, which differ in the color of the stems, leaves and petioles, as well as the shape of the leaves. The most common among them are “Emerald”, “Scarlet”, “Belavinka”, “Green”, “Lyonsky”, “Spinach”, etc. The plant is also presented decorative varieties with petioles of various colors, curly and wavy foliage. These, for example, include “Yellow-petiole”, “Red-petiole”, “Silver curly”, etc. In addition to the vegetable garden, they can be planted in flower beds and mixborders.

What does chard need to grow successfully?

Chard is an unpretentious plant; its cultivation and care are not particularly difficult and are very similar to the cultivation of table beets. Below you will find recommendations on crop rotation for this crop, choosing a location, selecting soil and methods for planting it in open ground.

Chard's predecessors

It is better to plant leaf beets in the place where plants used to grow, during the cultivation of which organic fertilizers were added to the soil, for example, onions, cucumbers, and potatoes. In order to comply with the rules of crop rotation for chard beets, you should not grow them in the same place every year; it is better to return the crop to the same land after three years. It is also not recommended to sow the plant in areas where spinach, cabbage, and beets previously grew. First of all, this must be done in order to protect leaf beets from diseases and pests.

Did you know? Chard leaves are used to prepare salads, cabbage rolls, borscht, stews vegetable dishes. Caviar is prepared from the petioles, they are pickled and stewed. Its taste is reminiscent of spinach and sorrel. The juice from the petioles is used for medicinal purposes for blood diseases.

Lighting for chard

Chard is not demanding on lighting; it can grow both in open areas of the garden and in partial shade. However, it is important to know that with strong and prolonged shading, leaf beets will grow more slowly and will not produce as large leaves as with good lighting. Also, an increased amount of nitrates may be observed in a plant growing in the shade.

What should the soil be like for planting chard?

Swiss chard can grow in any soil, but it will be especially tasty and meaty when planted in moist, fertile soil with neutral acidity. The plant does not tolerate acidic soils very well. Before sowing, it is advisable to fertilize the soil with humus or compost (3-4 kg / 1 sq.m). However, this must be done in the fall. In spring, organic fertilizers are applied approximately 12-14 days before sowing.

Did you know? Table beets were obtained through the hybridization of chard and other wild species.

Features of planting chard

To plant chard, use seeds or seedlings. The seedling method is rarely used. When to plant chard in open ground will depend on how long you want the harvest to be. At the same time, experienced gardeners recommend not to sow it too early (before April), so as not to get caught in spring frosts. Although the plant is quite cold-resistant - the seeds can germinate at a temperature of +4-5 ºС and tolerate minor frosts, it is still better to plant at higher temperatures. The most favorable temperature for them will be 18-20 ºС. If your goal is a very early harvest, then you can use the seedling method or sow under film.
Petiole varieties will be ready to eat 90-100 days after planting, leaf varieties - after 60-70 days. In order to long time and have fresh greens on your table in the early stages, it is recommended to plant leaf beets in three periods: in the first weeks of May, in mid-July (the harvest will be in early spring) and before winter. The best time to sow for the first time will be the beginning of May. Before planting chard seeds, you need to prepare holes for each seed. The distance between the pits is left 25-30 cm long, in row spacing - 35-40 cm (for leaf varieties, 25 cm is possible). The seeds are deepened into the soil by 2-2.5 cm.

Important! Don't sow chard too thickly. Dense plantings can provoke the development of fungal diseases in the plant.

Young chard sprouts produced from seed should appear in about 20 days. One seed produces several sprouts, so the seedlings will need to be thinned out, leaving gaps between them of 40 cm for petiole varieties and 10 cm for leaf varieties. To further propagate your leaf lettuce, you can collect the seeds yourself. The ripened testes are cut off and hung for ripening. The seeds of chard are the same as those of regular beets. They must be stored in paper bags. They retain germination for three years.

Since propagation of lettuce using seedlings is not so common, we will only briefly mention how to plant chard using the seedling method. The main advantage of this method is that this way you can achieve an earlier harvest. You can sow plants for seedlings as early as early April. Before sowing seeds for seedlings, they must be soaked for one day.

Since the root system of chard is very developed, it is necessary to select a deep container or separate pots for seedlings. The distance between crops should be 25-30 cm. Seedlings are planted in open ground when they reach the age of 3.5-4.5 weeks and a height of 8-9 cm, in early or mid-May. You can plant it densely - keeping gaps of 15-20 cm between plants. The harvest will be ready for cutting in about a month, when the leaves reach a height of about 25 cm.

How to care for chard in open ground

Although growing chard in open ground does not pose any particular difficulties, in order to achieve a good harvest in the form of large, juicy leaves, the seedlings require minimal care. Care will consist of periodically loosening the soil, watering, fertilizing and removing flower stalks.

Soil care and watering plants

The soil under chard must be weeded periodically in order to destroy weeds and facilitate oxygen access to the roots. Loosening must be done after watering and rains so that a crust does not form. Swiss chard loves moisture (but not stagnation), so it is worth watering it abundantly, especially during dry periods. The frequency of watering will depend on the weather, but it is better if it is at least once a week.

Important! Excess moisture can trigger the development of powdery mildew on the plant.

How to fertilize chard

Leaf lettuce responds well to feeding. However, when carrying out this procedure, you need to know when to stop, since an excess of fertilizers can lead to the opposite effect - causing harm to the plant. Excessive feeding threatens the accumulation of nitrates in the plant. It is necessary to feed chard after each cutting of leaves or petioles. To do this, use a solution of urea (10 g / 10 l of water), mullein (1:5), and liquid herbal fertilizer.

Pest and disease control of chard

Also on Swiss chard A fungus that causes blackleg disease may develop. Symptoms: leaves wither, stems turn black, roots dry out. The disease can lead to the death of the plant. In hot weather, death can occur quickly - just six days after the onset of the disease. To protect chard from blackleg, it must be planted only in beds that are carefully cleaned in the fall. It is necessary to observe a moderate watering regime.

Harmful to lettuce are the root beetle, beet aphid, beet flea beetle, and wireworm. In the fight against parasites, preventive measures, compliance with the rules of crop rotation and agricultural technology come to the fore. Since the aerial part of lettuce is eaten, the use of insecticides is undesirable. They should be used only in extreme cases and when parasites are widespread. When choosing drugs, preference should be given to biological agents that are not dangerous to humans and the environment.