https://www.westcoastseeds....
Easy to grow. Very cold tolerant. Leaves can survive to -9C. Roots can survive a lot colder and pass the winter if protected by thick layer of snow, cones or plastic sheet. It will bolt in hot summer temperature in July. The flower stalks can be removed and eaten to force side shoots to grow and continue producing of leaves.
Not bothered by slugs or cabbage moths. The only problem I had with it is leaf miner, which are small larvae which tunnel inside the leaves. When that happens, the leaves start to develop black spots. I check the leaves once every other day to see if there is any small black spots developing and harvest the affected leaves. The black spots could be removed and the rest is edible. If not harvested early, the leaves will become very bruised and there is not much to eat after. Another way to prevent the problem effectively is to cover the plants with an insect net or lettuce shade covers. Each plant can be harvested for a very long time.
The seeds are best started in March indoor and planted out when the next 14 day forecast is -5C or above. It can be protected from frost by covering it with anything at night if there is a frost forecast for next morning. The next planting can be done in July indoor to plant out in August or direct sow in mid July. It will provide green leaves until mid to late December if protected against frost by covers at night.
Swiss chard does not require extremely rich soil like Chinese broccoli. But we’ll drain soil with more organic matter grown in full sun (semi shade is very fine) will make bigger leaves. The best way to create soil is to make leaf mold in the fall and winter for next year. I made a pile of leaf mold as big as a small car this fall and it may shrink to half a car size next fall. Next fall, it will be used to cover all the beds and the next cycle of making leaf mold start in the fall again. This is the best way of growing good vegetables at the very low cost.
Each bag has twenty grains of seed combo (each one has 4 seeds). Purchase of more than 10 bags enjoys a 10% discount until the end of 2023.
Pickup at H9W 1J1.