Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla.
One of the oldest vegetable garden plants of the Mediterranean basin, already described by the Greek naturalists in the 4th century BC, and which has accompanied European cuisine without interruption ever since. Botanically, it's a very close cousin of the beet — same species, different selection — that develops spectacular leaves and stalks rather than a fleshy root.
The red selection unfurls stems and veins of a deep crimson, sometimes almost violet, that contrast magnificently with the dark green, puckered leaf blade — a stained-glass effect in the vegetable garden when low sun cuts through them. Mild, earthy flavour, lightly sweet for the stalks, more marked for the leaves. Excellent sautéed with garlic and olive oil, slipped into a frittata, in pasta with currants and pine nuts Sicilian-style, in a cheese gratin, or cooked separately leaves then stalks to respect their distinct cooking times. Continuous harvest from July to the first serious frosts — take outer leaves as needed, and the plant produces new ones from the centre for months.
Grower's tip: Like the beet, each "seed" is a glomerule containing several seeds — thin early and without mercy, or the plants compete and stay stunted. Chard is one of the rare leafy greens that doesn't bolt in summer heat — it sails through the summer unfazed where spinach and lettuces give up. To intensify the stalk colour, give it bright sun and resist the urge to over-fertilize with nitrogen — balanced soil gives more vivid colours than soil overfed.
- Open-pollinated. Biennial — flowering only occurs in the second year. Wind-pollinated; crosses with beets and other chards — isolate for seed saving.
- Height: 45 to 60 cm.
- Maturity: 50 to 60 days (young leaves from 30 days).
- Exposure: full sun to part shade.
- Rich, deep, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil. Thin to 25-30 cm.
- Direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked (early May in Québec). A single planting produces until hard frost — no need for successive sowings. Tolerates light frost at season's end.
