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about one inch in diameter.
Most Take About 60 To 70 Days
In most varieties, the mature root reaches two to three inches in diameter in about 60 to 70 days from seeding. Detroit Dark Red and Ruby Queen are two of the best varieties for use in Virginia. Both have an excellent deep-red color. A beet variety I particularly like in Cylindra. Its 6- to 8-inch roots are uniform in diameter, making them very easy to process.
Swiss chard requires only one planting as it is grown for its leaves along. Only the outside leaves are picked and the rapid-growing inner leaves quickly replenish the harvest. Swiss chard will require thinning to about 4 inches apart. The young plants you pull can be cooked for greens.
Red Has Excellent Flavor,
Green Gives Higher Production
The red variety of Swiss chard, rhubarb, has an excellent flavor and colorful wine-red leaves, but I consistently get higher production from green-leafed varieties, such as Fordhook Giant and Swiss Chard of Geneva.
Swiss chard can be treated as a twoart crop in that the deeply crinkled leaves have prominent central ribs up to two inches across that can be cut away from the rest of the leaf to be cooked and served similar to asparagus.
The remainder of the green blade is cooked like spinach although it is considerably milder.
It is important with Swiss chard to continuously harvest the foliage as it reaches 8 to 12 inches. Older, tough leaves left on the plant will prevent the plant from producing fresh foliage.
Dr. Diane Relf is a horticulture specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension and is a member of the faculty of Virginia Tech.
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