We sowed our first batch of Rainbow Chard seeds last year autumn and we have never need to sow any rainbow chard seeds ever again that was the first and last sowing we needed in our garden. Since then there are continues supply of rainbow chard up until now available for us growing without care and thriving in our garden. This is because we let several rainbow chard go to seeds last spring and we often found volunteer seedlings in the garden ready for transplanting if we wish so. Several of our rainbow chard plants are showing the sign to flower now that we officially entered spring this month.
Rainbow Chard can grow up to 50cm tall but it is a plant that also can be grown in container if you have a small or balcony garden. For example the depth of soil in the container on the photo above is about 25cm. Rainbow Chard plant can look ornamental as well.
Rainbow chard needs full sun or more than 6 hours direct sunlight to grow well. Two to Four plants will be sufficient for a small family. Rainbow chard is a cut and come again plant. I observed that rainbow chard is heat and drought plant once established last summer. Rainbow chard does not grow much in partial shade or growth is very slow.
A healthy flowering rainbow chard plant can grow up to 7~8 feet tall.
I was surprise to see the bottom of the flowering rainbow chard plant forms beetroot. Rainbow Chard and beet root are cousins, they belong to the same family.
Rainbow chard pollinator agent is wind.
Rainbow chard seeds drying on the plant.
How do you like to enjoy your rainbow chard?
We have been pan frying all our greens this Winter with a little capsicum, leek and a touch of garlic and olive oil...we mix them all up, Kale, all types, Endive, Spinach...it all gets thrown in till lovely and soft...I will let some go to seed this Spring too and see if we can get some plants for free!
ReplyDeleteWhoa look at the size of the flowering rainbow chard! I guess I'd better move them into deeper containers to support such a huge plant.At the moment they are in 15cm deep styrofoam containers, under black netting. The bugs seem to have stopped partying (for now) on my chard leaves so hopefully they can recover well.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering, did you eat the chard root? If you did, how did it taste like?
So far I have taken my chard raw, either by making kerabu, munching on it or grinding it with other veggies to make green juice. I notice that the red stem (by coincidence my stems are all red or pink) taste sweet like beetroot. Yum.
wah bestnyer!
ReplyDeleteI find my rainbow chard does OK in partial sun although as you say it does tend to be a lot slower and also more prone to mildew. Love your monster chard. Personally I prefer chard to spinach so I substitute it for spinahc in practically everything.
ReplyDeleteMine is growing slowly, maybe it doesn't get enough sun. Perhaps I will move it to the hanging baskets on the porch as the lettuce that was in them cannot seem to grow there.
ReplyDeleteI love rainbow chard. I use it all the time and even my kids have started to pick a leaf to chop up in a toasted sandwich with cheese. After readimg your post I think I'll leave a couple to go to seed.
ReplyDeleteHello great experience, dude! thanks for this great Articles wow… it’s very wonderful report.
ReplyDeleteYour rainbow chard is looking healthy and gorgeous! Sorry for not visiting for quite some time! I'm a bit slow over at my garden too! Hope everything is well with you!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend! We are having a long weekend break, Monday is a holiday!
That is so wonderful. Great job taking time with the camera throughout the chard's life cycle. We tried to grow chard for seeds this year, but things got to crazy. I would never have guessed the plant might grow that large!
ReplyDeleteHI D ! Rainbow chard is my one reliable vegetable :) All year round! They grow into huge trees though don't they!
ReplyDeleteI ate four angled beans in malaysia and thought of you...have you tried growing it here? Do you know where we can get seeds from?
I have just harvested a few of my yams.
ReplyDeleteNot big, but so delicious.
I had no idea that Chard can grow so tall! It really makes a statement in the garden when left alone to thrive...
ReplyDeleteI like the look of rainbow chard but must admit that it isn't a taste that I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI usually add chard to stir fries. I let a plant go to seed as well and it got very tall and flowered. It looked quite interesting in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI've rarely had chard flower here. It isn't hardy over the winter so it never gets the chance. For the first time this year one of the spring planted chards bolted. This year's weather has really confused a lot of the plants.
ReplyDeletei have to transplant my rainbow chard to receive enough sun since current spot is under shade...
ReplyDeleteyour rainbow chard is looking great!
That surprised me! I never thought the chard plant could grow so high. Wow.... By the way did you eat the beetroot? Did it taste like the beetroot we normally eat and are used to.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing how the chard makes it seeds! I was wondering how it looked like given the strange looking seed! Very cool.
ReplyDeletethat really big chard. mine still growing
ReplyDeleteI grew the red one this year. The cooked leaves got a big thumbs-down from the family. So then I cut the ribs out, steamed them, marinated them in Italian dressing, then diced them up in salads. Everyone really liked them that way and they were such a pretty color too!
ReplyDeleteVery nice colors... seems like your garden has anchored itself into a virtuous cycle... enjoy!
ReplyDeletedidnt know that this plant can grow up so high. still growing??
ReplyDeleteEnchanted Moments~Sounds very delicious especially from your own garden. I have not tried growing endive yet and I am curious how does it taste like. Hope you get many seeds around your garden.
ReplyDeleteMama Pongkey~They grow very big even before the plants start to flower. More than 40cm height at least. No I did not eat the chard root because it might be very woody. Root veggies like carrot, parsnip or beetroot when they starts to flower usually the root becomes woody and not juicy anymore. Macam makan kayu nanti.Sounds delicious rainbow chard with kerabu.
Kesuma Angsana~ Kadang tengok macam bukan sayur lak warnanya macam hiasan.
Liz~The ones in partial shade is more resistant to bolting though. Your rainbow chards always look so lovely especially the yellow ones.
Becky3086~ Hope with the move on new location, the plant will pick up growth faster.
Veggiegobbler~Rainbow chard self-seeded easily, your boys will have fun finding the volunteers later.
Kitchen Flavours~Hope you had a lovely long weekend and had some leisure time in the garden too.
Jody~We did not expect the plant will be large too went we first let them go to seeds. Many were knock out by strong winds.Your boys must have fun watching how large they grown.
The Bok Flock~I have not tried growing the four angled beans here. It needs a long growing season to produce like snake bean. It has very pretty flower. It is also known as winged bean or asparagus pea here. Online 'Green Harcest' or Eden Seeds have them.
Rainfield61~Your home-grown yam must be very delicious.
Skeeter~Rainbow Chard really grows large and tall. In trouble if there are strong windy days.
Sue~ I am still experimenting with rainbow chard on what kind of dish I will enjoy them the best.
ReplyDeleteKelli~Yes, the flowering rainbow chard does look very interesting in the garden. The seeds look interesting too.
Daphne~Definitely weird weather, must have change drastically to trigger plant to flower early.
Hernyhafiz~Rainbow Chard love the sun very much. Can be drought-hardy plant once established.
Sri Ranjani~No I did not eat the roots. But it was really big.
Charmcitybalconygarden~It was really surprising for us as well how Rainbow chard flower looks like to produce the strange looking seeds.
Nitesky~Hope yours will grow large steadily without any setbacks.
Kate~Thanks for sharing how your family enjoys them. We grow the red one last year and it is very beautiful made the garden more interesting.
Lrong~I don't really have a neat garden. Many volunteers make themselves very comfortable.
Lena~The one in photo not anymore got knock down by strong wind. But I have many plants around the garden at the moment growing taller each day.