Chard: choice of variety for planting. Swiss chard Swiss chard when to start eating and what parts

Many people do not even know about the benefits of leaf beet 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 beet, which has a lot of useful qualities and properties.

What is chard

Chard is a type of beet that is not represented by a root crop, but by 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 fragrant, but also a very useful plant with a slightly bitter taste.

Chard is considered a vegetable and herb at the same time.

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

The composition of the chard includes:

• vitamins (A, B, C);
• macronutrients 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 appearance 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 plant leaf beets in a flowerpot, you need to provide it with additional lighting.

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

The vegetable propagates with the help of seeds. Chard is a frost-resistant plant. Therefore, in the spring you can get the first harvest.

Benefits of chard beetroot and contraindications

The virtues of chard are described even in the manuscripts of Aristotle, which means that the plant was used as early as the 4th century BC. e. In the modern world, most people grow chard as an element of decor and do not even realize that it has incredible beneficial 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 to strengthen bone tissue, renew the structure of hair and teeth.
2. Chard leaves contain iron, which means that their use 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. Beetroot helps to 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 the working capacity of the brain. This is due to the B vitamins.
7. Improves vision, helps with eye diseases.
8. Chard can be used to relieve inflammation.
9. Promotes the production of sebum, which nourishes the hair follicles. As a result, the hair becomes strong and shiny.

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

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

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

Where is leaf beet used

The vegetable is widely used in alternative medicine and cooking. Chard helps with purulent abscesses and burns. It is also indicated for inflammation of the eyes. To do this, grated leaves of the culture are applied to the problem area.

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

With the help of juice, freckles and warts are removed. Grated chard root promotes hair growth and prevents baldness.

Chard in cooking

Due to its pleasant taste, leaf beets are widely used in the culinary industry. Vegetables are cooked in most countries of the world. Mostly young leaves, plant cuttings are added to salads. The calorie content of the product is low, so it can be safely put in diet meals.

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

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

Vinaigrette is also prepared from leaf beets, added to beetroot. Also, chopped beet leaves are mixed with green onions and seasoned with sour cream. Boiled and then breaded shanks of leaf beet have a pleasant taste.

In Italy, young chard is used to prepare the traditional dish "Beete", which means "Red" in translation. The dish is called so due to the fact that there are small, red stripes on the leaves of the vegetable.

Chard is a unique plant that contains a huge amount of useful components. In addition, it has few calories, which is important for people who follow their figure. The use of leaf beets will benefit the entire body and will prevent many diseases.

Healing beet chard in the garden - video

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

In appearance, chard is more similar to spinach, which is why it is often called spinach beets. This culture is valuable not only for the composition of nutrients, but also for the fact that the crop can be harvested for a long time: in early summer with seedlings, in summer and autumn from open ground, in autumn and winter- due to the forcing of greenery in storage.

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

Currently, chard is widely grown in Western Europe, the USA, and Japan. It is not clear why, but this hardy, productive, useful and tasty plant that does not require special care is not popular with gardeners and gardeners (and these are mostly elderly people). But in vain! The chard clearly deserves a better fate.

The chard does not form a fleshy root crop, like beets, it has a taproot, strongly branching root, almost not thickening, completely immersed in the soil. Therefore, the whole plant is pulled out with great difficulty. Unlike beets, chard roots are coarse and inedible.

Chard is leafy and petiole. At the leaf- powerful rosette with a large number of 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, the chard forms an extensive root system and a powerful rosette of leaves. They are much larger than those of table beets. Their color is the most diverse: dark green, yellowish green, reddish. Depending on the varietal characteristics, the petioles are white, light green, yellow, red.

The formation of a large number of leaves is possible only on nutrient-rich soils. In the second year, the chard forms a flower stalk up to 1.2-1.5 m high, on which seeds are formed, very similar to beet seeds.

Chard- unpretentious plant, much 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 mature plants- up to -4...5°C . The optimum temperature for culture is 22...25°C. Chard is photophilous and relatively drought-resistant. Most of all, he needs moisture during the swelling and germination of seeds and the rapid growth of leaf mass.

Depending on the shape of the leaves, in cooking, leafy chard is cooked like spinach, and petiole, in which mainly leaf petioles are eaten,- like asparagus.

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

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

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

Chard seeds germinate slowly, so they must be prepared for sowing. To do this, they are soaked for 36-48 hours in water at a temperature of 35 ... 40 ° C. 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 along with planting potatoes. At earlier dates, crops must be covered with a film. It should also not be forgotten that during early sowing, low air temperatures can cause plants to shoot.

When sowing chard, the row spacing depends on the variety of the crop. When growing leaf varieties, the row spacing is 25 cm, petiolate- not less than 40 cm. In small beds, chard is often sown in nests, with a distance between them in leafy varieties - 20 cm, in petiolate- 40 cm. Seeding depth 2-3 cm. Some gardeners grow chard, like beets, 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 the seeds of chard, like beets, are a seed, in which there are 2 or more seeds enclosed in a common shell, its crops usually need strong thinning.

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

To get a good harvest of chard, 2-3 times during the summer, the plants should be fed with infusion of various weeds that you collect while weeding in the garden or vegetable garden. To do this, in a sunny place, you need to install a barrel, fill it with a third of the grass, 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, fertilizer for feeding any garden or horticultural crops will be ready. In terms of quality, it is slightly inferior to the finished mullein solution.

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

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

It is necessary to cut the leaves 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 are fully unfolded. Chard can stay in the soil for a long time without losing its qualities.

Of particular interest is the chard, for getting early greens, because in the spring of next year it quickly forms a lot of leaf mass. To promote its formation, it is necessary to spud the plants in the fall and mulch with peat chips on top.

For winter distillation, chard is dug up in the fall, the outer yellowed leaves are removed and added dropwise in the basement. As needed, they can be planted in a box and start forcing chard greens on the windowsill.

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

V. Shafransky

Chard, kale - the decoration of our garden

Chard, or leaf beet, in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece was known as Roman cabbage. plant homeland- coast of the Mediterranean. In culture for at least 4000 years. The Romans actively spread the cultivation of chard in the territory of 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 to neighboring regions and countries. Now it is widely cultivated in European countries, the USA, Latin America, as well as in India, Japan, etc.

Anyone who wants to make their garden not only nutritious, but also decorative, I suggest paying attention to the chard. In the end, not all gardeners harvest root beets for the winter, and for summer consumption, her close relative, the nutritious and healing beet chard, is even more suitable. Leaves and petioles are used for food in this culture, its roots are rough for this. Chard leaves and petioles are rich in proteins, sugars, valuable mineral salts (calcium, iron). Although there is less iron in chard than in spinach, the range of its use in cooking is wider.

So, what is leaf beet rich in? It contains 10-11% solids, including fats, sugars, 40 g /% vitamin C. 10 g /% carotene, vitamins PP, B1, B2, 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, insufficient circulation, kidney and liver diseases, and diabetes. The juice squeezed from the leaves and petioles has long been used to stop bleeding, resorption of tumors. A decoction of leaves and petioles is used to treat pneumonia and respiratory diseases, gargle with sore throats.

BIOLOGICAL PORTRAIT. CHARD VARIETIES

Chard- biennial plant of the swan family, or haze. In the first year of life, it develops a rosette of leaves and a branched root, and in the second year- the flower stem is 1.2-1.8 m high. The chard has larger leaves than the table beet, 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 the conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region, the roots freeze more often.

A high yield of succulent leaves and petioles can only be obtained on rich fertile soil. On very light, poor, as well as heavy, clay soils, chard leaves become rough and tasteless (sour). The optimum acidity of the soil for this crop should be at least pH 6. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Benefits of chard:

It tolerates summer heat better than other green crops;

More cold hardy than red 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 autumn, adult plants withstand the same short-term frosts down to -6°C, but die with longer exposure to low temperatures. The optimum 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- green.

Two forms of chard are known: stalked and leafy. Leaf blades and petioles of chard, depending on the variety, have a color from light green to intense red. The leaf form forms a rosette of leaves 20 cm high, and it is more early-ripening than the petiole. The growing season is 50-55 days. In the petiolate form, the leaves are larger with a somewhat curly surface, the central vein is strongly developed and gradually passes into a wide juicy and fleshy petiole. Vegetation period 75-80 days. In our country, the most common petiolate varieties are:

Scarlet - color resistant. The first collection of leaves can be carried out 38-42 days after germination, 80-90 days pass before the final harvest. The rosette of leaves is spreading, 60 cm high. The leaves are purple-green, slightly bubbly, large. Raspberry-red petioles up to 27 cm long. The yield of leaves and petioles in the open field reaches 3-5.5 kg per 1 m2, in a greenhouse and greenhouses- up to 10 kg.

Belavinka - from mid-season to mid-late ripening, resistant to flowering at low temperatures, moderately affected by pests, weakly powdery mildew. The leaves are long-petiolate, large, slightly vesicular. 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 regrowth of leaves is 180-200 days, from germination to harvesting 90-120 days. The rosette of leaves is semi-vertical. Leaves 60 cm long, green, glossy, no anthocyanin, medium blistered. Petioles 25 cm long.

Red - during winter sowing, the period from sowing to the growth of leaves 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 bubbling with red venation. Petiole 25 cm long, red. The mass 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 in size, light green, medium bubble. Petioles about 30 cm long, wide, green, slightly curved, juicy. The mass 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 55-65 days after emergence. The rosette of leaves is vertical, compact, up to 60 cm high, the leaves are dark green, slightly bubbly. Petioles are wide, white, with a golden hue, 30-45 cm long, moderately curved. The mass 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 30-40 cm long, bright red, slightly curved, juicy. The mass of petioles from one 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 in size, dark green with purple veins, medium bubble. Petioles more than 30 cm long, bright red, slightly curved, juicy. The mass of petioles from one plant is more than 700 g.

HOW TO GROW A BEAUTIFUL AND TASTY CHARGOLD

This culture has become fashionable with us, chard is willingly 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 of chard: tomato, cucumber, peas, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes. It is not recommended to place it after beets and spinach, as these crops have common diseases. Chard can be returned to its original place in circulation after 3-4 years. Soil preparation is carried out as for table beets:

Since autumn, they dig to the depth of the arable layer, apply 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 autumn, it is necessary to give a complete complex mineral fertilizer or to pre-grow and plant green manure (green fertilizer) in the soil of the future bed.

We will prepare the seeds and sow 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 epina-extra for 2 hours. Chard is sown simultaneously with beets or a little earlier, in early May, with dry, later - germinated seeds , spending 1-2 g of seeds per 1 m2. The sowing depth is 2-3 cm, the scheme is single-line with row spacing of 35-45 cm. After sowing, the bed should be mulched with humus. Shoots appear in 8-10 days.

Grow seedlings to get an early harvest. Seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of March, like the seeds of cabbage or head lettuce, in a tray with earth or a box to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Before germination, the box is covered with foil and placed in a warm place. As soon as the first sprouts 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.

In the phase of the first true leaf, the plants dive into pots with a diameter of 6-8 cm or into the soil of the greenhouse, culling 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 in thinning (1st- after the formation of 1-2 leaves- 12-15 cm, 2nd- In 2 weeks- by 40 cm), weeding, loosening of row spacing and soil around plants, abundant watering in dry weather, top dressing. In the first half of the growing season, plants should be intensively fed, 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 wagon 2 or nitrophoska (50-60 g per 10 liters of water).

Proponents of organic farming recommend spreading ash before watering or loosening the soil at the rate of one glass of ash per 1 m2, and use infusions of nettles and weeds. Top dressing is repeated every 10-12 days, starting from the second thinning or after 2 weeks. after transplanting 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 top dressing - in August with phosphate and potash fertilizers. Once every three years, compost is covered between the rows (2-4 kg per 1 m2).

Harvest. Chard gives greenery throughout the growing season until the onset of severe frosts. Petioles and leaves reach their maximum size after 2-3 months. after sowing. Harvesting is started when at least 10 leaves 20 cm high are formed on the plant. The leaves are harvested as needed, while they are juicy and tender, cutting them 3-4 pieces from the outer part of each outlet at a height of 2.5-5 cm from the surface soil. At the same time, they 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 point of growth. After that, new leaves begin to grow. Plants are finally harvested in October. The roots are dug up for distillation.

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

FORCING AND GROWING

Distillation is carried out on balconies, verandas, loggias or pantries at a low temperature, closing the plantings from the light. For distillation before frost, the chard is dug up with roots and the root neck is cut into a cone. Small roots weighing 50-60 g without leaves are planted tightly, deepening so that the apical bud is visible. At a temperature of 20-25°C, the leaves begin to grow in 2-3 days. At the same time, the boxes are exposed 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, wilted leaves are removed and rosettes are added dropwise to wet 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, botvinia, soups, salads and vinaigrettes are prepared from them. Petioles serve as a substitute for asparagus and katran, they are fried in oil, fermented with cabbage for the winter. At home, from chard you can cook:

PIECE SALAD

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

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

Thoroughly wash the chard stalks 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 it brew in the refrigerator for half an hour- hour. Serving on the table, decorate with egg slices and finely chopped parsley.

CHARD STEW

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

Rinse the petioles, cut first along, and then the resulting "sticks" into pieces 4-5 cm long. Simmer in a small amount of salted water until tender. Pour the finished dish with melted butter, sprinkle with parsley and toasted grated breadcrumbs.

PASTE

2 kg stalks of chard, 2-3 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and citric acid, a few pieces of lemon or orange peel, 300 g of prunes, 1 cup of raisins, 3-4 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil.

Finely chop the chard stalks or grate them on a coarse grater. Put in an enameled 4-5 liter saucepan. Arrange orange or lemon peels on the sides and on top of the mass of chard. Send sugar, salt, citric acid into the pan. Pour 1 liter of boiling water, cook for half an hour. Rinse prunes and raisins well. Add the prunes to the pot and cook for another 30 minutes. Pour vegetable oil into it, send raisins and boil for another 3-5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate. Serve on the table the next day as an independent cold dish 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 green onions, dill, parsley, 1 horseradish root, 1 teaspoon of citric acid, salt and sugar taste.

Rinse chard leaves in cold water, boil in salted boiling water until soft, adding young beets boiled and rubbed through a sieve for color. Finely chop fresh cucumbers, green onions, dill, parsley. Grate horseradish root. Add all ingredients to a saucepan with broth and boiled chard, mix, add citric acid, sugar, salt to taste. Serve to the table in a deep plate, seasoned with chopped circles of hard-boiled egg 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, chard thoroughly, chop, sauté in vegetable oil for 3 minutes. Serve as a side dish.

CHARD WITH NUTS

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

Boil pure chard leaves in boiling water for 35-40 minutes, then put them in a colander, cool, squeeze out the water and cut. Crush the nuts, add finely chopped garlic and pepper, as well as salt, chopped onion and dill. Combine everything with chopped chard, mix and pour over lemon juice.

A. Lebedeva , Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Moscow

(Garden and vegetable garden No. 6, 2008)

Beetroot 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 useful and great for eating. The leaves of the plant in terms of their content of nutrients and vitamins are not inferior to table beets.

Growing chard bears similarities to growing common beets. The existing differences relate only to landing and some issues of caring for it. This is a fairly unpretentious plant and produces a crop all year round, provided it is grown in a heated greenhouse, and in open beds - from early spring to frost.

Description of chard

Leaf chard belongs to the Amaranth family, to the genus Beetroot. All parts of the plant are suitable for food, except for 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 taste of the leaves is reminiscent of young beets.
• Such a plant is characterized by increased resistance to cold climatic conditions. It successfully grows at an air temperature of + 6-7 degrees. This property allows sowing seeds in open ground starting from April. If planting is carried out in the middle of summer, then the greens are harvested in autumn.

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

Note that sowing chard can be done in the fall to harvest fresh herbs in early spring.

Basic care requirements

This variety of greens does not require special conditions for growing. But in order to get a crop in the form of large leaves, you should regularly water 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 for the winter, covered with mulch. The following year, in the spring, 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 collection of foliage in fertile areas. Therefore, when drawing up a crop rotation plan, one should provide for planting this crop in those areas that were fertilized with organic fertilizers in the previous year.

Planting is carried out when the soil warms up to a depth of 3–4 cm. When sown at an earlier date, the bed is covered with a film to activate germination. Usually, after germination of plants, thinning is carried out. As the bushes grow, they are spudded to strengthen the root system.

Ways to Use Beetroot Chard Leaves

Since the green mass of chard contains a large amount of vitamins and substances useful for 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 with diabetes mellitus, as well as for those who have a reduced level of red blood cells. The use of such leaves with high blood pressure has a positive effect. It has been noticed that when green leaves are included in the diet, the immune system is strengthened, and liver function is also improved.

Green beets are added as an ingredient in salads. Dense petioles are not thrown away either. They are stewed, used for pickling and even fermented for the winter.

Varieties of chard

Several cultivars are used to grow chard chard. Their difference lies in the color of the petioles (green, scarlet), according to the ripening period and the purpose of the foliage. By the method of cultivation, they practically do not differ.

Swiss chard red is planted from mid-April when temperatures are stable. The planted bed is covered with a film. With this method, conditions are created for faster germination of seeds.

This variety is characterized by reduced activity in the flowering process. The first crop can be harvested 40-45 days after planting the seeds. This type 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 Emerald has a relatively late ripening. It takes at least 2 months from planting seeds and germination to the first harvest. This culture has small rosettes and very large, juicy petioles. They are often used for stewing or pickling.

Planting and care rules

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 carried out. It is optimal to dig to a depth of at least 30 cm. At this time, if necessary, make a small amount of humus and potash fertilizer. If the soil is clayey and heavy, then the leaves will be dense and rough. But if the soil is fertile enough, then it is not necessary to fertilize it.

How to germinate seeds

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

Usually, the time of planting chard coincides with the planting of 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 arrows, and not leaf mass. To protect plants from such a process, the bed is covered with a film to maintain humidity and maintain temperature.

Planting seeds is carried out in shallow furrows (about 3 cm). Shoots appear after 2 weeks. The first loosening is recommended after the appearance of several leaves on the plants. At the same time, excess plants are removed. Weaker plants should be pulled out.

This crop can be grown in seedlings. Transplanting seedlings into the ground is carried out after the soil warms up to at least +10 degrees.

Subsequent care consists in the timely loosening of the soil and thinning of the bushes. Chard is watered infrequently because it is tolerant of drought conditions. Only with significant drying of the soil is additional moisture carried out.

In the conditions of heated greenhouses, Swiss chard is produced even in winter. In closed greenhouses, watering is carried out approximately once a week. At the same time, liquid mineral fertilizers are applied. For this culture, too high a temperature is unacceptable, this can cause the formation of arrows.

Propagation methods and harvesting

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

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

Even planting this plant in a pot on the windowsill, you can pluck the succulent leaves and use it to make salads. In this way, you can get a crop of green foliage in any season of the year.

Leaves should be cut from the outside, as the outlet will continue to form a new green mass. The more you cut the leaves, the more magnificent this bush subsequently becomes, releasing more and more new shoots.

Pests and diseases

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

Of the pests, beet aphids and earthen fleas are of great danger. To cope with them, plants are sprayed with ready-made insecticides, infusion of onion scales, or other well-known folk methods.

- a biennial herbaceous plant, a subspecies of the common beet, belonging to the subfamily of the haze from the amaranth family. The distribution area is the middle and southern latitudes of Europe. Many cultivars exist, varying in stem color (white, yellow, pale green, and dark green) and leaf texture, which can be curly or even. This article will discuss the best chard varieties for growing outdoors.

Did you know?The cultivation of chard began in ancient Rome, while the roots of common beets began to be eaten much later, only in the 10th century.

Chard "Lucullus"

The chard variety "Lukullus" 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, strongly bubbled leaves. Planting varieties "Lukullus" produced in April or late autumn. The mass of the productive part of the plant is from 500 g to 1200 g. From the shoots of the plant to ripeness, 3 months pass.

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

Chard "Scarlet"

A two-year-old hybrid, resistant to flowering in the first year of vegetation, gives the first crop 35-40 days after planting, becomes fully ripe in 90 days. Chard "Scarlet" has a sprawling green-purple rosette of bubble leaves up to 60 cm in size. The petioles have a raspberry hue, they reach 25 cm in length, they are juicy and fragrant. The variety is characterized by high yield: from 1 m2 in open ground, you can collect up to 6 kg of petioles and leaves. in greenhouses - up to 10 kg.

Important!The scarlet chard contains oxalic acid, so it needs to be boiled a little before use. This is worth doing for people who have problems with the kidneys and gallbladder.

Chard "Red"

A mid-season variety with red leaves, frost-resistant, moisture-loving, can grow on any soil. Leaf beet chard "Red" contains vitamins C, B1, 33, carotene, it is rich in mineral salts, proteins. The use of "Red" chard juice allows you to expand blood vessels, cleanses the liver and kidneys, forms red blood cells, improves memory, and slows down the aging process. Salads are prepared from leaves and petioles, soups are cooked. Grows fast and needs regular pruning.

Chard "Emerald"

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

Chard "Argentata"

Chard 'Argentata' is a cultivar that forms a vigorous shrub with many large leaves on wide and fleshy white petioles. The variety bears fruit for a very long time - from early June to late autumn. You can cut leaves and petioles several times during the growing season, the green mass recovers very quickly after each cut. The best soils for Arzhentata chard will be loose and fertile loams.

Chard "Spinach"

An early ripe domestic variety that forms a large rosette of tender juicy fleshy leaves. It is highly frost-resistant, it is undesirable to grow in acidic soils, it grows best on light and fertile loamy soils. The peculiarity of this variety of leaf beet is that the sowing of "Spinach" chard should be done at a soil temperature of up to 20 ° C. To protect yourself from spring frosts, you can plant in three stages - May, July and October, to speed up seed germination before sowing, they must be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

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

Mangold "Belovinka"

Chard "Belovinka" is a light-leaved 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. Leaves can be used as salad greens, and petioles for hot dishes.

Important!The use of "Belovinka" chard is useful 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 strongly bubbling leaves and wide white petioles. It grows best on loose soils, loves a lot of sunlight, needs regular thinning by 30-40 cm. If the owner is going to remove the 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 very much appreciated in the Mediterranean countries. There it is eaten on a par with spinach, since its benefits to the human body are no less. In this article, we offer you recommendations for planting and caring for leaf beets in the garden. 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. No wonder this culture is often called Roman cabbage. It was later introduced to other European countries.

Description of chard and its types

– a special variety of beets, which, unlike its common relative, has inedible roots and edible leaves and petioles. This two-year-old vegetable crop belongs to the haze family. The cultivation of chard lettuce is practiced in the USA, Europe, Japan, India and other countries. Leaf beet leaves are juicy, fleshy, 30-40 cm high. Depending on the variety, they have different colors - red, green, green-pink, green-purple. This plant does not form a root crop at all. There are two types of chard: stem (petiolate, veiny) and leaf (chives chard, chard chives). In stem plants, along with leaves, petioles are also edible. They are wide and fleshy, 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, calcium. Chard is a low-calorie vegetable, only 19 kcal per 100 g.

There are many varieties of leaf lettuce that 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", "Lyon", "Spinach", etc. The plant is also represented by decorative varieties with petioles of various colors, curly and wavy foliage. These, for example, include “Yellow-petioled”, “Red-petiolate”, “Silver curly”, etc. In addition to the garden, they can be planted in flower beds and mixborders.

What Chard Needs 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 the crop rotation of this crop, the choice of location, the selection of soil and how to plant it in open ground.

Chard predecessors

Leaf beets are best planted in a place where plants used to grow, during the cultivation of which organic fertilizers were applied to the soil, for example, onions, cucumbers, potatoes. To comply with the rules of chard beet rotation, you should not grow it 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 have previously grown. 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, vegetable stews. Caviar is prepared from petioles, they are pickled and stewed. Its taste is reminiscent of spinach and sorrel. The juice from the petioles is used for medicinal purposes in case of blood diseases.

Chard Lighting

Chard is not picky about 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 lettuce will grow more slowly and will not produce as large leaves as in good light. Also, in a plant growing in the shade, an increased amount of nitrates can be observed.

What should be the soil for planting leaf beets

Swiss chard can grow in any soil, but it will be especially tasty and fleshy when planted in moist and fertile soil with neutral acidity. The plant does not tolerate acidic soils very well. Before sowing, it is desirable 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 beet was obtained by hybridization of chard and other wild species.

Features of planting chard

For planting chard, seeds or seedlings are used. The seedling method is rarely resorted to. When to plant chard outdoors will depend on when you want to harvest. At the same time, experienced gardeners recommend not sowing it too early (before April), so as not to fall into spring frosts. Although the plant is quite cold-resistant - the seeds can germinate at a temperature of + 4-5 ºС and tolerate slight frosts, it is still better to plant at higher temperatures. The most favorable 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 the film.
Petioled varieties will be ready for eating 90-100 days after planting, leaf varieties - after 60-70 days. In order to have fresh greens on your table for a long time and at an early date, leaf beets are recommended to be planted in three periods: in the first weeks of May, in mid-July (harvesting will take place in early spring) and before winter. The best time for sowing for the first time will be the beginning of May. Before planting chard with seeds, holes must be prepared for each seed. The distance between the pits is left 25-30 cm long, between the rows - 35-40 cm (25 cm is possible for leafy varieties). Seeds are deepened into the soil by 2-2.5 cm.

Important! Do not sow chard too thickly. Dense plantings can provoke the development of fungal diseases in the plant.

Young chard sprouts grown from seeds 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. Mature testicles are cut and hung for ripening. The seeds of chard are the same as those of ordinary beets. They must be stored in paper bags. They remain viable for three years.

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

Since the root system of the chard is very developed, it is necessary to select a deep container or individual 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 tightly - observing intervals of 15-20 cm between plants. The crop will be ready for cutting in about a month, when the leaves reach a height of about 25 cm.

How to care for chard outdoors

Although growing chard outdoors does not cause any particular difficulties, nevertheless, in order to achieve a good harvest in the form of large succulent leaves, seedlings need minimal care. Care will consist in periodic loosening of the soil, watering, fertilizing and removing flower stalks.

Soil care and plant watering

The soil under the chard must be periodically weeded in order to destroy the weeds and facilitate the access of oxygen to the roots. Obligatory loosening should be after watering and rains so that a crust does not form. Leaf beet loves moisture (but not stagnant), so it should be watered 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! An excess of moisture can provoke the development of powdery mildew on the plant.

How to fertilize chard

Leaf lettuce responds well to top dressing. However, when carrying out this procedure, you need to know the measure, since an excess of fertilizers can lead to the opposite effect - harm the plant. Excessive feeding threatens the accumulation of nitrates in the plant. It is necessary to feed the 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), liquid herbal fertilizer.

Mangold Pest and Disease Control

A fungus that causes blackleg disease can also develop on leaf beets. Symptoms - the leaves wither, the stems turn black, the roots dry out. The disease can lead to the death of the plant. In hot weather, death can occur rapidly - as little as six days after the onset of the disease. To protect the chard from the black leg, it must be planted only on the beds carefully harvested in the fall. It is necessary to observe a moderate watering regime.

Harmful for leaf lettuce are root beetle, beet aphid, beet flea, 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 with the massive spread of parasites. When choosing drugs, preference should be given to biological agents that are not dangerous to humans and the environment.