[Trillium]

Came across this interesting video about how to preserve fresh greens - beet tops, kales, chard and collards - for the winter.

It's a timely idea for those with lots of greens but don't know what to do with the surplus. For the chard, I would bag the chopped stems in a small bag that I'd include in the main bag so that I can cook up the stems longer before adding the leaf parts.

Link.

[allotmentann]

Thanks Trillium,  I have a load of chard I have been wondering what to do with. I know now!

[arugula]

Chard grows over winter in the UK where it doesn't (normally) get that cold:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/vegetables/chard

[allotmentann]

Chard grows over winter in the UK where it doesn't (normally) get that cold:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/vegetables/chard

  It does, but I don't eat that much of it, and it seems to be getting a bit tough. To be honest I probably won't grow it again, or if I do I will plant individual plants in odd spaces where there is room, rather than my current bed full of it!

[arugula]

Chard grows over winter in the UK where it doesn't (normally) get that cold:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/grow-your-own/vegetables/chard

 It does, but I don't eat that much of it, and it seems to be getting a bit tough. To be honest I probably won't grow it again, or if I do I will plant individual plants in odd spaces where there is room, rather than my current bed full of it!

Its ideal for successional planting too which would get around that, but if you don't eat that much of it and find it getting tough, why not use the sweet young growth in the summer and eat seasonally, eat something else in the winter? Save the space to preserve something else.

[allotmentann]

Yes, you are right. I had not tried it before. I did use some in salads earlier in the year. Because I didn't get my plot until late spring, there were a lot of things i would have liked to have grown that I couldn't, so I had spare space and tried chard. It is not that I don't like it - I just like other crops better. I think also knowing how much to grow of something is very difficult in the first year when you have no idea what the yields will be! Although with the crazy weather it is probably unpredictable anyway! I think your successional planting idea would be best for me

[arugula]

And in time, you will get around to trying other crops and deciding what is best for you.

[Madame Cholet]

I chuck it in soup curries scrambled egg, mash pots ect. Find it too strong on its own good for bulking out.

[shokkyy]

I really like chard, in fact much prefer it to spinach. I did keep some going all through last winter but just found it got rather grubby and horrible for eating. This year I'm going to overwinter a few plants in my polytunnel, so it's nice and clean.

[arugula]

This year I'm going to overwinter a few plants in my polytunnel, so it's nice and clean.

For using cooked, I prefer chard to spinach too. We have a plan here this year to grow it both outside and in the polytunnel over winter and compare results.

[GrannieAnnie]

The perpetual spinach I grew in my ploytunnel 4 years ago did well until I had to let 300 chickens in there because their run was so muddy!

The spinach didn't last very long   

[cheshirecheese]

I grew rainbow chard last year, which looked very pretty in the veg patch  ... until the flippin' slugs found it.      There were more holes than leaf at the top of each stalk by the time they'd finished!!

[Trillium]

I can grow greens all year as well but its just too much trouble and fuss, so I figured others might also prefer to simply preserve their greens before critters get the lion's share. It's also very handy to simply pull a ready to cook packet out of the freezer or a bottle off the shelf.

[Auntiemogs]

I have some really healthy looking kale and chard and I must admit, when I tried the kale I found it a bit chewy  and presumed the chard would be the same...however, a quick squint on the internet and there are some lovely sounding recipes for soups  so I'm going to blanch it and freeze it rather than give it to a friends chickens (sorry chooks!).  Thanks for this Trillium. 

[shokkyy]

I find kale a bit chewy too, but not chard. Chopped and steamed with a bit of salt and black pepper, it's lush. But my all time favourite leaf is beet leef, and I mean the leaves of beetroot as opposed to perpetual spinach.