Chard
Beta vulgaris var. ciclaW
henever I cook spinach, I have this sink ors, from white to scarlet. The variety Bright
ing feeling that seems to be infl uenced Lights has both orange and yellow stalks.
by the rapid loss of bulk. Such lovely leaves All this color is wonderful in the garden, but
simply darken and disappear! While this rapid it does pale down in cooking. The stalks must
shrinking can be lessened, it can be avoided be detached and cooked separately because
completely by switching to chard, also known they take at least twice the time as the leaves.
as Swiss chard. I’m also fond of chard as a finely sliced gar-
You can start your chard by sowing indoors nish to soups and stews. I roll several destalked
(a fiber-based egg carton filled with potting soil leaves like a cigar and then cut across in what is
will fit perfectly on a sunny kitchen window called a chiffonade and then again across each
ledge). Sow 1–2 weeks before your last frost. bundle to reduce the length to pieces no more
Plant out in raised beds 8–12 inches apart in than 1 inch by, say, ¼ inch or less. This heap of
all directions. raw greens with red, yellow, and white fl ecks
When the plants are 6 inches tall, move can then be added at the last moment to a soup
down the row and snip off the outer leaves. or stew or even an omelet—all delicious!
Later you can cut the whole plant down to just
2 inches, and it will regrow for a winter crop. In
midsummer (if left uncut), it can rapidly go to The Numbers
seed. Chard is rich in vitamin K 1 and osteocalcin, which
Chard has deep green, robust textured ruf promote bone growth.
fled leaves that stand up perfectly to steaming— For each 100 g cooked (3.5 oz): 19 calories, 0 g fat,
or a swift sauté or stir-fry. As well, there are its 0 g saturated fat, 4 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g
designer stalks, which come in a variety of col dietary fiber, 213 mg sodium
116 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE