September 2011 Plant of the Month —
Chard

Swiss chard, a member of the beet family, is both a lovely and tasty addition to the fall landscape. Photo by F. McAnally, from a planting in the UT Gardens, Knoxville.

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Submitted by Fiona McAnally

If you want to add some color to your fall vegetable gardens or ornamental landscape, consider chard, or Beta vulgaris. Though it resembles rhubarb, chard is actually a member of the beet family. Chard is also commonly referred to as Swiss Chard, to distinguish it from a French vegetable that was offered in early seed catalogs.

Chard grows best in the spring and the fall in Tennessee, and can be planted along side spinach and lettuce in full sun or part-shade as temperatures rise in the summer. Chard has shown to have greater cold and heat hardiness than other leaf vegetables, and a small patch will continue to produce as long as it is periodically picked. When planted directly into the soil, you will want to thin plants for the best results. For many, it is hard to pull up those tender shoots for which you’ve been patiently waiting, but it is important to thin these leafy greens for maximum yield. Chard is relatively pest and disease resistant, but it is recommended to regularly discard old or wilted leaves to minimize problems. 

Chard is used frequently in Italian and Middle Eastern cooking and was originally cultivated by the Greeks, according to Purdue University. The stalks and leaves are edible and can be eaten in salads when small and tender. As chard matures, you can separate the stalks from the leaves, preparing the stalks like asparagus and sautéing the leaves with garlic and olive oil. Several recipes are also available for pickling stalks.

Chard is full of important nutrients including vitamin A, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.  With only 35 calories per cup, cooked, chard shows up on many lists of “power foods.”

One of my favorite cultivars is ‘Five Color Silverbeet’ offered by Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa (seedsavers.org).  This multi-colored chard is similar to ‘Rainbow’ with shades of red, purple, white, yellow and orange. This year the UT Kitchen Garden planted “Ruby Red,” which displays a rich deep red that contrasts with dark green leaves.  Other cultivars include:  ‘Argentata’, ‘Bright Lights’, ‘Fordhook Giant’, ‘Large White Ribbed’, ‘Paros’, and ‘Silverado’.

Fiona McAnally is a graduate student in the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences studying under Dr. Susan Hamilton, director of the UT Gardens. The University of Tennessee Gardens located in Knoxville and Jackson are part of the UT Institute of Agriculture. Their mission is to foster appreciation, education and stewardship of plants through garden displays, collections, educational programs and research trials. The gardens are open during all seasons and free to the public. See http://utgardens.tennessee.edu/  and http://westtennessee.tennessee.edu/ornamentals/ for more information.

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Contacts:

Dr. Susan Hamilton, Director of the UT Gardens, 865-974-7324, sueham@utk.edu

Patricia McDaniels, UTIA Marketing and Communications Services, 615-835-4570, pmcdaniels@tennessee.edu