|
|
Chard & Beets General.
Italian chards are especially sweet.
Liscia verde has a thin stem and a smooth leaf;
it makes a perfect substitute for spinach during the summer.
Costa Bianca has a much thicker stem and crinkly leaf.
You can cook the leaves and also braise the stems separately.
Our chioggia beet is descended from sugar beets and is very very sweet.
Also, when cooked it does not ‘bleed’ like many beets.
The tops are very tasty and are good cooked by themselves or with pasta. Culture.
Beets and chard should be planted in a fertile well drained soil
with a pH over 6.0 and good fertility. Plant
beginning four weeks or so before the last frost date, one seed per inch, ˝
inch deep in rows 12” apart. Thin
to one plant every six inches for chard; one
every 4-6 inches for beets. Provide
and adequate and continuous supply of moisture.
Both do well from transplants. For
transplants, seed 1-2 seeds per cell 6-7 weeks before set out date.
You can thin to one plant per cell, or just put them all out.
Either way works fine. Set
out plants 3 weeks or so before the last frost date.
They will take a frost down to @ 20 degrees;
however, if you have remay cloth or vented plastic tunnels, the
protection they give from wind and the extra heat will give an even earlier
crop. Keep well weeded and provide
plenty of water. Beets sometimeds get ‘corky’ on the top. Prevent this by hilling up soil over the top of the bulb when
you are weeding. Make succession
plantings of beets every 3-4 weeks. For
best quality chard, make succession plantings every 7-8 weeks.
Both will survive a heavy frost in the fall.
Liscia verde chard is very cold hardy and should survive until
temperatures get in the teens. If
will survive all winter in an unheated greenhouse since it is the snow, ice
& dry wind that kills the plant, not cold. Pests & diseases.
Not much bothers beets or chard.
The exception is leaf miners which favor beet & chard tops.
Damage is, for the most part, cosmetic for mature plants.
Control leaf miners by using light weight remay cloth before the leaf
miners appear in the spring. You
can also control them with rotenone or pyrethrum. Harvest/storage/use. With chard you can either pick outer leaves or cut the entire plant about 3-4 inches from the soil line and the plant will regrow. You can usually get two and sometimes three full plant cuttings. As soon as you harvest it, wash it and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. For beets, pull, wash & store in the crisper. Cook the tops separately; they are delicious. Cook chard by itself in a little olive oil & garlic or cook with pasta. See the recipes for some suggestions. |