I admit it… I am completely and utterly in love with swiss chard!
I didn’t even know it existed 9 months ago and I had never seen it for sale in any supermarket or grocery shop. When I picked up the seed packet last August I didn’t know what it would taste or grow like, to be honest I only chose to grow chard because I got my allotment in late Summer and it was one of a handful of seeds I could grow that time of year. 9 months later and the chard is still growing strong with such little effort, I didn’t cover it during the frosts and it survived! I am so unbelievably in love with this little colourful leaf that it has to be the best thing I have grown so far, I just can not recommend it enough. And another plus side… It tastes absolutely delicious and makes one of my favourite dishes, swiss chard quiche (I have popped the recipe on the recipe page!)
I am definately going to be growing it again this year, although I may have to plant it in my fruit bed between the small blackcurrant bushes as I am running out of space to grow things! Another idea is to wait until a crop has been harvested and then plant some chard in that space, the good thing about that is chard can still grow well later in the year and that means no space is left empty!
On another, more serious note… something has been trampling all over my plot again and the main suspect are those pesky deer! I am so glad I covered my freshly planted peas up otherwise they would have been flattened. Something has also been nibbling my tulips which were growing nicely and had reached about 3 inches tall, one bulb had been pulled up and 3 tips had been completely eaten! My fence is going up in the next 2 weeks so hopefully this will keep the trouble out of my lottie and my poor tulips can be left to grow!
5 thoughts on “Sweet on Swiss”
hard is such a great vegetable no idea why you cant buy it in shops but then again its so easy to grow! Which variety did you grow?
The Swiss chard I grew was called Bright Lights, so it was was very pretty as well as delicious! I’m actually quite glad the shops round here don’t sell it, makes it that more special 🙂
It certainly sounds as if deer are eating your tulips; we have a deer ‘problem’ on our plots in Southampton and everyone puts fencing or netting to about 6feet high to stop them. Ruins the scenery but saves the crops! Good luck with your plot and blog (excellent video!).
The majority of the plots here have fencing and I’m hoping to put some up next weekend if the weather stays nice (fingers crossed!) Whereabouts is your allotment site? I bet its nice a big, North Baddesley has about 20 plots and no committee which is a shame. Thank you so much 🙂
My plot’s at Holbrook in Southampton, not far from North Baddesley. I don’t think they’re the same deer though!