<p>60 days. Grow this 1998 All-America Selection winner in your flower garden for fantastic colour all winter! This chard has thick stems of red, yellow, rose, gold and white, bearing lightly savoyed leaves of burgundy and green. Another choice vegetable to use in containers, and just picture the vivid colour on your table on a dull winter’s day! Grows 50cm (20 in.) tall.</p><p>CULTURE: Grow like beets. Sow April through mid-July: one seed every 2cm (1in), 1cm (1/2in) deep, rows 45-50cm (18-24in) apart. When 8-12cm (3-5in) tall, thin seedlings to 15cm (10in) apart. Moderately winter-hardy, will stand through mild winters on the Coast. Plant April through mid-July. Beets grow well in moderately fertile soil, but because of their extensive taproot, prefer to have deep, moist, rich soil. Tilling in compost or well-rotted manure will provide the best conditions. Mixing a 1/2 cup of complete organic fertilizer (per 1.5-3m rows) into the soil below the seed furrow will provide the nutrition needed to get the seedlings well on their way. Be careful not to allow the soil to dry out during root development, as dry soil will increase the amount of zoning (pale rings in the beet) Sow one seed per 2cm, 1cm deep, in rows 40cm (16in) apart. Cover seeds with loose soil. Water uniformly, avoid soil crusting. For uniformly sized beets thin carefully, 8-10cm (3-4in) apart when seedlings are 8-12cm (3-5in) tall. (Eat those thinnings, roots and all, steamed or in a Mesclun Salad) Germination will take place in about 5-14 days. <br>HARVEST: Cut individual stalks using the large outside ones first. <br>SEEDSPEC: Minimum germination standard: 75%. Days to emergence: 5-15. Optimum soil temperature range for germination: 10-30C (50-85F). Days to maturity: from date of direct seeding. One gram contains approximately 30-80 seeds. Usual seed life: 2 years.</p><p>Swiss Chard is a variety of beets and beetroot and perpetual spinach. Swiss chards with broad stalks are recorded by Bauhin in 1596, and Gerard grew a red-stemmed variety in England at the smae time. Chard was also grown in China in the seventh century and still remains popular there today, grown mainly during the winter in the south.</p>
