When to harvest Swiss Chard?
- Thread starter flyboy718
- Start date
ninnymary
Garden Master
flyboy, I start cutting the outer leaves when they are about 12 inches long. I like to add them to my chicken soup. I also saute them in alittle olive oil, garlic, alittle chicken broth and alittle balsamic vinegar. I usually have this as a side dish to fish, along with sweet potatoes fries.
Mary
Mary
Greenthumb18
Deeply Rooted
I harvest mine when the leaves are large enough about 12 inches. I have swiss chard that came back up from last year, had to harvest those before they went to seed. I even have volunteers that are sprouting everwhere. I like to sauteed it simply with olive oil and garlic.
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
- Thread starter
- #4
lesa
Garden Master
Remember, you don't need to cut down the entire plant. Just remove a few leaves from each, and the plant will keep growing. Even the very large leaves are still wonderful. Happy Gardening!
- Thread starter
- #6
lesa
Garden Master
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it. How did you end up preparing it? Since it grows like crazy, I like to harvest the extra- blanch it for a few minutes and freeze it. Come winter, I can add it to soups and pasta. It is a great way to get a serving of green veggies. When added to something like pasta, you can barely tell it is there- but you get all that nutrition. Happy Gardening!
April Manier
Deeply Rooted
anytime from baby to the beginning of bolting. They get woody when they bolt.
RickF
Deeply Rooted
Also keep in mind that if you've got any recipes that call for Spinach, you can substitute chard 1 for 1 in place of the spinach.. The taste when cooked (IMHO) is very similar.
momofdrew
Deeply Rooted
best recipe I have is saute in olive oil with onions,garlic, & tomatoes, it will be soupy and then serve it over day old Italian bread top with parm cheese... yummo
