Are you look for a nutritious leafy fleeceable to contribute to your vegetable garden ?
Consider chard ( genus Beta vulgarissubsp.vulgaris ) . A member ofthe common beet folk , this various vegetable is an easy to turn source of nerveless weather condition common that ’s perfect for an former spring orautumnveggie path .
Also known as Swiss chard , Spinacia oleracea beet , or silverbeet , chard top kale in the amount of fiber , protein , Ca , andironit offer per serve . It is also a great origin of vitamins A , ampere-second , and K , as well as Mg and potassium .
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taste tester put off by kale ’s gall might like chard ’s spirit better , too . Chard is more mild — its leaf taste similar to Spinacia oleracea ( although they are unrelated ) , and the chaff ’ flavour has been compare to that of the stalks ofbok choy .
Tempted to add this Sicilian native to your garden ? Let ’s hear a minute about the unlike type of chard , and then we will deal our favorite varieties for growing in the garden .
The 9 Best Varieties of Chard for Your Garden
What to Consider Before Making a Selection
When choosing which miscellanea to summate to your garden , weigh stalking and leaf color . You ’ll come up cultivar with yellow , orange , cerise , or green stalks , and character with green , bronze , or purple leaves .
Other appearing - link up differentiators include level of folio “ savoyness ” ( how crumpled or smooth the leafage is ) , and plant height .
leave can vary from very soft and tender to thicker and more “ leathery ” in texture . root word can be thick and full-bodied , or sparse and delicate .
There ’s a small range of time to maturity in various cultivars , so that would also be something to search at , depending on how quicklyyou want your harvest .
Pest resistance , too , is something to consider . In my experience , the white - stemmed type , which have a milder spirit , tend to be moreattractive to peststhan the darker - staunch varieties .
Our Top Picks
Here , we ’ll render information on several pop diverseness of chard .
One affair to know : as you search chard , you may see reference to “ rainbow chard . ” This is usually just a mix of seeds of different varieties which , when grown together in the garden , provides a rainbow of colors . Or it may be the ‘ Bright Lights ’ variety , incorrectly labelled .
You ’ll also come across the names silverbeet and Swiss chard used interchangeably .
1. Barese
This clean - halt heirloom variety is a midget eccentric , only touch about 9 inches marvelous at matureness .
‘ Barese ’
It has smooth , dour unripened folio with a balmy flavor . Quick growing , you may reap infant leaves at 25 days , or mature leaves at 45 days .
Easy to grow in containers , it ’s slow to run out , giving you iterate harvests throughout the time of year .
Many gardeners harvest and cook the whole flora , as you would baby bok choy . ‘ Barese ’ is also quite pest - resistant .
Purchase packets of seed in various quantitiesfrom straight Leaf Market .
2. Bright Lights
colored ‘ Bright Lights ’ produces stems in yellow , orange , gold , pink , red , bloodless , and striped .
‘ Bright Lights ’
As mentioned above , it is sometimes mistakenly called rainbow chard .
This 1998 All - America Selections Edible Vegetable achiever matures in 55 to 60 days and grows to about 20 in grandiloquent . bestow vibrant color to your garden , it is sometimes grown purely for its ornamental note value .
The foliage and stalk are untoughened and have a milder flavor than some other type , particularly those with rich red stalks . Harvested young , the morose green leaves are luscious in salads .
Find packets of 100 seeds for‘Bright Lights ’ at Burpee .
3. Fordhook Giant
Introduced by Burpee in 1934 , his soft - flavored cultivar has thick , obscure light-green foliage that are heavy savoyed and quite sore . Young leaves can be used sensitive in salads , and fledged leaves are better cook for a sweeter flavor .
‘ Fordhook Giant ’
‘ Fordhook Giant ’ is easy to grow and produces heavy yields – even in warm weather . It prefers full Lord’s Day , but will tolerate a bit of shade .
It grows 20 to 28 inch marvelous , and matures in 60 day .
Find packet of 350 seeds for ‘ Fordhook Giant’at Burpee .
4. Large White Ribbed
This heirloom mixed bag has a wide-eyed , flat , white root and politic , ship’s boat leave . Young leaves make a tasty addition to salads , and the mature leave of absence can be enjoyed steamed or evoke - fry .
‘ with child White Ribbed ’
‘ big White Ribbed ’ grow to about 20 inch tall and is mature in about 60 days . Unfortunately , this variety can be a bit more susceptible to pestilence such asleaf miners .
ejaculate for ‘ Large White Ribbed ’ in bundle of various size of it areavailable at Eden Brothers .
5. Lucullus
‘ Lucullus ’ is an heirloom variety of chard named for a Roman emperor moth who was well know as a epicurean .
‘ Lucullus ’
His eponymic chard produces full , thick stalks that are lily-white or pale immature and large , benighted unripe parting that are heavily savoyed .
grow to about 20 inches tall , ‘ Lucullus ’ matures in 52 to 55 days . Both leave and stem have a angelic , balmy flavor , and store well in the freezer .
Seeds for ‘ Lucullus ’ areavailable at rightful Leaf Market .
6. Magenta Sunset
The colour of the stems of this heirloom variety show is nothing brusque of show - stopping – bright pink and beautiful !
‘ Magenta Sunset ’
The stem and bland farewell of ‘ Magenta Sunset ’ have a mild flavor , and the pink - vein unripened leaves are specially tasty in salads .
‘ Magenta Sunset ’ matures in about 65 day , and mature to about 24 column inch marvellous . It can have a tendency to bolt if young plant are exposed to cool temperatures .
recover packet of 200 seeds for this colorful varietyat True Leaf Market .
7. Orange Fantasia
This open - pollinated case displays bright orange stem topped by thick green , savoyed leaves , which are tasty in salads when harvest vernal .
‘ Orange Fantasia ’
A colorful addition to stir - fries , this variety maintains its color when falsify .
A bolt - tolerant cultivar , this type is fully mature at about 20 inches marvelous within about 65 day after planting .
Packets of 50 to 200 seeds for this colorful potpourri are available fromSeed King Express via Amazon .
8. Peppermint
This open - pollinate type is appoint not for its tang , but rather , for its white shank that are strip with crimson - pink chromaticity .
‘ peppermint candy ’
Somewhatreminiscent of a Chioggia beetroot , this type makes a striking addition to your vegetable garden .
‘ Peppermint ’ matures in 53 to 63 days , but you could embark on harvesting child leaves in as few as 35 days .
This cultivar can grow to about 24 inches tall . The leaves are broad , dark green , and savoyed with bright white veins . Adding a robust , gross flavor , they are delicious steamed or in hustle - fries .
Find package of 200 seeds for ‘ Peppermint ’ chard atDavid ’s Garden Seeds via Amazon .
9. Rhubarb
There ’s also a pop chard mixture call ‘ pieplant , ’ which isnot in fact rhubarbat all .
‘ pieplant ’
Whoever name this diverseness was focused on appearing rather than flavor ..
‘ Rhubarb ’ chard bring forth dark green , savoyed leave with dark red veins . The stalks are blood-red ( thus , the name ) and slimly flat . Baby green will add interest to salads , and the ripe leaves are juicy and tasty when cooked .
This type , also known as ‘ Ruby Red ’ ( less meet , since at least to me they do n’t resemble grapefruit … ) matures in 60 daytime and grows to 20 to 24 column inch tall .
bundle of 550 seeds areavailable at Burpee .
A Rainbow of Choices
Who knew there was such a mixed bag usable in the earth of chard?And now it ’s prison term to decide : tall or brusque ? Crumple - leaf or smooth ? Orange , red , white-hot , pink , or green ?
Whichever cultivars you opt , be sure to check into out our completechard growing guidefor tips to get started , once your seeded player go far .
see other types of greens ? Check out these growing guides to learn more :
© enquire the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more particular . in the beginning issue December 14th , 2019 . Last update August 30th , 2023 . Product photos via Burpee , Eden Brothers , True Leaf Market , and David ’s Garden Seeds . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock . With additional writing and editing by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu .
About
Gretchen Heber
