Prior to this summer, I've never eaten Swiss Chard. That was before I read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", where Barbara Kingsolver claims "Five Color Silverbeet" is her favorite seed to grow.
Sifting through the seed catalogs last winter, I saw how beautiful the plant really is. The colored stalks are very bright and beautiful amongst the green foliage.
Most of my crop didn't grow. I think this is due to my husband cultivating with the tiller too close to where I had planted the seeds. We learned our lesson: never, never till between the rows until the plants have fully sprouted! You may end up tilling seeds under.
I harvested our first Swiss Chard on the first day of summer. It's so gorgeous I had to show you. It is a relative of the beet and rhubarb plants; you'll see the familiarity. The stalk colors range from beautiful bright yellow, pink, orange, purple, and red.
