Swiss Chard Is Such An Under Rated

Bob Bauer

August 26, 2018 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

August 26, 2018

Swiss chard is such an under rated veggie. It's always in my garden, in various stages of harvest, winter, summer, spring and fall. The only reason we don't eat it is when we have so much other stuff available. It takes so little care that I forget where the patches are growing. It thrives with whatever water it gets and cycles through reseeding itself effortlessly..

I tend to take it for granted and ignore it but it's always there for me. If you plant some seeds now, and are in 8b planting zone, the plants should be large enough by the first frost on November 15th to make it through the winter. The early spring pickings will convince you that it should be a permanent garden addition..

August 27, 2018

I found a four foot square of plywood to cover my hill of Kohlrabi with, and when I lifted it off today there were hundreds of pill bugs under it. I thought I would leave it off so they would disperse but as I watched they all disappeared down below the mulch. It's a good thing the winter rains pack the soil surface down or my spring starts wouldn't stand a chance. Having mini greenhouses to cover the mounds was incredibly awesome this year after I learned to bank the soil up on the inside and outside..

When the rain and wind reduced the dirt height I pushed more up against them but discovered that my loose, compost rich top soil was not as effective at keeping pill bugs out as plain dirt. They wiggle right through composted soil giggling all the way..

August 28, 2018

The Silver'N Gold Hybrid sweet corn I planted some of this year continued to surprise me. The bottom ears ripened before the top ones, and were two toned. The top ears were a solid color if they got pollinated at all. The plants were so tall that the ears were spaced far apart, and it seems like the tassels and silks were out of sync..

The Early Girl Hybrid corn that I'm familiar with grows short, stocky, dark green dense foliage with purpose, not tall, willowy, under nourished looking stalks with an iffy attitude. Kinda like the difference between Danny Davito and Barry Manalo..

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