Swiss Chard Will Get Us Through the Winter

Bob Bauer

October 10, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

October 09, 2016

The first rains have come, germinating the first round of winter grass. For us outdoor types it's the beginning of the renewal of life to the land. In a few weeks the tree limbs will start lifting from the return of abundant water. The cooler temperatures shut down the corn, tomatoes and zucchini ripening, but in only a few sunny days they have started back up again..

The corn ears are only half pollinated, interrupted by the rain washing the pollen off, but a half ear is better than no ear at all. Hear what I'm saying?..

October 10, 2016

I've always been amazed at how the zucchini plant could signal the blossoms to stop accepting pollen when it had produced a squash big enough to form seeds. Then I realized that it's the blossom end of the little zucchini that gets stunted, and wondered if it was a calcium deficiency causing it, like on tomatoes, because all the calcium was going to the big one to form seeds. Maybe ALL the nutrients are going to the big one since the plants purpose is to reproduce itself..

I guess I could Google it but why should I have all the fun?..

October 11, 2016

Raw Swiss Chard is just not as palatable as fresh lettuce. I keep putting a handful on my plate but struggle to finish it. It's much denser than lettuce and has an earthy beet like taste, which is not bad, but it does not compliment the sandwich..

Half of every sandwich bite goes toward ridding your mouth of the aftertaste. It's rich in vitamins and fiber so it shouldn't be shunned, and you can't chew it to oblivion like you do lettuce, so it probably wipes down the inside of your intestines as it passes through, but I prefer it cooked..

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