[LivvyW]

I started off some swiss chard last Autumn, i left it too late and it only grew three or four leaves (2" high) before it got too cold to grow much more.  If i plant them into the greenhouse border now, will i get a crop?

They are still alive and have started a bit more growth in the recent milder weather.

Or should i try fresh seed.

[mumofstig]

According to Sarah Raven you will get a crop from them as soon as the weather warms up So i guess it depends on whether you need that space for anything else instead

[Caddi fuller-teabags]

We grew them last year.  very pretty - tasted 'orrible.  I just gave the remaining seeds away.  I felt a little guilty about passing them on, tbh.

If you get a cropm do tell me if you find them edible.

Caddi

[hubballi]

I planted them in Autumn, fed them, even protected them with half plastic bottles to act as mini greenhouse as well as keeping pests off.

Result: very very poor growth, most died. Only about 2 cm high even now 

[Paul Plots]

I've grown Swiss Chard for the last few years....(there are several family members who like it - not all)... it is normally tougher than old boots. Will withstand the snow, frost, wind and even dry spells without problems.

Vandals pulled my dad's out of his front garden (they must have tugged ) but I stuck it back in the soil and it continued growing despite the cold winter.

It over-winters comfortably.... Taste? I guess if you like spinach you might like Swiss Chard.

Try sticking a few tender new leaves into a white/cheese sauce when cooking a pasta bake or other pasta dish. It is great with a poached egg but don't over cook it or the results are soft/slimey/pulpy. It can, I am told, be eaten raw if tender leaves picked early spring (but I've not tried it).

A knob of butter in a covered sauce-pan or a very little water will reduce it to an edible vegetable.

The white stalks are sometimes eaten in preference to the leaves. I think this is the case in France. (Poor mans' asparagus) It's a great stand-by when there's very little green on the plot over winter.

[Carol]

I've got a lovely row of bright coloured chard which has survived all winter and is now sprouting fresh leaves again.  It seems to be the easiest thing to grow, and the hardest thing to get anyone to eat!  I won't be growing it again, even though it is very pretty.

[celjaci]

I think it's better to start it off a bit earlier, more late summer than autumn, that way it makes a bigger plant to survive the winter and grow away in spring.
They always look pretty miserable over winter especially  a real winter like this year.

I find Swiss chard very productive with huge leaves when in full swing - fills a carrier bag in 2 mins flat!

Not everyone likes the earthy, spinach taste. Some  books reccomend using the stems on theit own with melted buttter, but doessn't do it for me.
We use leaves and chopped stems in a Fritata with all those eggs from the chooks

[madcat]

I use the stalks as a bulking veg in things like curries - mild celery-ish flavour on their own (nothing to get excited about) but take up spices and other flavours well.

Mature leaves (with the central stalk taken out) like spinach; personal fave is in a fish pie.

And yes the little leaves are tender and interesting in a salad ... 

And it is pretty and grows and grows and grows and even the slugs cant keep up with it!   

[Stripey_cat]

I like chard, and my overwintered stuff is growing again now.  By the time it bolts, the new sowings will be coming along nicely.  (If you have room to let a few bolt, it is utterly stunning - four to five foot high stems, coloured as the variety dictates, and huge plumes of seeds - I'm not sure how true to type it is, but the seeds from Bright Lights I collected last autumn are fine for salads now.)

The mature greens are tasty - more robust-flavoured than spinach, I think they're perfect for Indian dishes (or mixed in with whatever other greens you have).  The stems are a bit 'meh' in my opinion, but they do mix in well with other veg in a stronger flavoured sauce.

Baby leaves (either seedling or small true leaves) are delicious, with a similar flavour to baby beetroot leaves (funny that!), and the coloured varieties look glorious.

[digalotty]

my neighbour plotter give us some last year,my daughter who doesnt eat mutch asked for seconds so this year its on the grow list , steamed with butter yummmy

[LivvyW]

Thanks all for your replies,

Just goes to show how great this site is.  Nice gardening advice, and a whole rake of recipes thrown in for free!!!

Celjaci, you are right, i think that;s where i went wrong and i planted it too late. Late summer is probably better than proper autumn.

Thanks again, i'll leave it in, and taste if for the first time soon.

[Lady Lottie]

I've got a lovely row of bright coloured chard which has survived all winter and is now sprouting fresh leaves again.  It seems to be the easiest thing to grow, and the hardest thing to get anyone to eat!  I won't be growing it again, even though it is very pretty.

  Me too!  Bright Lights - Planted it last spring - grew wonderfully, looked so colourful and beautiful - although the caterpillars enjoyed a fair amount of it...as you say though, they are welcome to it cos its tastes 'orrible!  Its rather like...umm...well - soil actually - either in its raw state or cooked!  Blech!  (and I love spinach - I don't think its similar at ALL).

[Paul Plots]

I've got a lovely row of bright coloured chard which has survived all winter and is now sprouting fresh leaves again.  It seems to be the easiest thing to grow, and the hardest thing to get anyone to eat!  I won't be growing it again, even though it is very pretty.

  Me too!  Bright Lights - Planted it last spring - grew wonderfully, looked so colourful and beautiful - although the caterpillars enjoyed a fair amount of it...as you say though, they are welcome to it cos its tastes 'orrible!  Its rather like...umm...well - soil actually - either in its raw state or cooked!  Blech!  (and I love spinach - I don't think its similar at ALL).

I think Swiss Chard has a slightly different taste from the more colourful varieties. The stems are flatter, wider and worth cooking in this variety. The coloured stems are not so good at all.

Taste is such a personal thing

[Stripey_cat]

I like the taste of the Bright Lights stems eaten young (up to finger thick) and raw - like a very mild, refreshing, not-so-sweet beetroot.  It's once they get bigger and need cooking that I think they taste of nothing in particular (and that goes for Lucullus too, which is a white variety).  I do think the different colours taste slightly different, although I'm not sure that would stand up to double-blind testing!