Chard

[Deleted]

Yes - Get the Rainbow ones or Bright Lights

I use as an ornamental, but in my opinion they are at their most valuable in Winter and make a colourful addition and structure to the usual winter bedding.

Oddly they also look good when they run to seed!

[Rosefriend]

I honestly didn't know what you meant until I googled it and then I realised that in Germany we call it Mangold.

It is a vegetable and we eat it here on the lines of cabbage, - it can be cooked in the same way - certainly not for a long time and it can also be frozen after blanching.

I do know people that blanch it and then use it for salads. I persoanlly have only eaten it as a cooked vegetable.

RF

[andy]

captaincabbage said:

Yes - Get the Rainbow ones or Bright Lights

I use as an ornamental, but in my opinion they are at their most valuable in Winter and make a colourful addition and structure to the usual winter bedding.

Oddly they also look good when they run to seed!

So it's a hardy annual / biennial ....will it tolerate hard frosts ?

I'm totally in the dark on this one....but they don't 'arf look good

[andy]

www.edirectory.co.uk/chilternseeds/pages/moreinfo.asp?pe=DBFBFCEDQ_+rhubarb+chard+rainbow+mixed&cid=211

Sounds good

[Rosefriend]

Just looked and yes - I know it when it is cooked as spinach - very quickly - it is very savoury, full of vitamins and can actually be eaten raw in a salad, although I only tried once as it was a bit strong for my liking.

There are seeds sold everywhere here for Mangold so I can certainly look as to what botanical name they use here. Just to make sure that we are talking about the same plant.

RF

[Deleted]

You want one that comes in yellow, orange and red.

The young leaf can be used as a salad, the older leaf as cooked spinach and the stems in stir fry or fried with garlic & ginger. Its taste isn't everyone's cup of tea and we tend to have "a bit" of it rather than loads.

I have found it to be hardy here. The boring version is Kale, which is often used on the continent as animal fodder.

[Rosefriend]

captaincabbage said:

Y


The boring version is Kale, which is often used on the continent as animal fodder.

Shame on you - Kale (Gruenkohl) is not used as animal fodder here in Germany - just homo sapiens fodder it here - it is just knowing how to prepare it.

It is gorgeous.

RF

[jean]

Kale is a great winter veg and very tasty - Chard on the other hand, very pretty in red and yellow, will stand most of the winter and take quite a few cutting but not on my plate thanks

[Deleted]

Im growing chard in the lottie this year, its very green and quite leafy (I don' t think I have a coloured type). When i take it home the OH and the boy sort of groan at me cos they know that they are going to get it for dinner! I just steam it for a couple of minutes and make a garlic butter sauce to dribble over it.
It fills the space up really nicely though and I think even if you dont eat it it wouldn't really matter. I think its quite hardy too. I will take some pics when I am up later today. Its howling a gale and looks rainy today, so not much to do.
Julz

[lottielady]

There is a Ruby Chard gone to seed on one of the plots on my site - I will try and remember to take my camera next time I go - it's about 6 feet tall

LLx

[isabella]

Chard always looks so beautiful but I don't like to eat it

[Deleted]

Heres a couple of pics of what ive got:





It was really windy today and they were still upright and not blowing around so I imagine they would be really good as an ornamental plant.

Julz

[lottielady]

Andy - Here is the Ruby Chard that has gone to seed on one of the plots - I used my phone camera so they are not brilliant photos.





and here is mine that has been in a few weeks now


I have some more planted next to my Artichokes but they are all quite small at the moment - didn't think to take a photo of those though. I thought the red would show up well with the grey foliage of the Artichokes.

LLx

[andy]

I'll defo get some seed next spring. I'm going to try to persuade my bosses to plant up an area of nothing but ornamental veg etc.....artichokes, ornamental sweetcorn, ornamental beetroot, chard, lettuce, fennel etc etc

Any suggestions for an ornamental veg/herb/salad bed ?

[oldmoleskins]

andy said:

I'll defo get some seed next spring. I'm going to try to persuade my bosses to plant up an area of nothing but ornamental veg etc.....artichokes, ornamental sweetcorn, ornamental beetroot, chard, lettuce, fennel etc etc

Any suggestions for an ornamental veg/herb/salad bed ?

The most obviously spectacular (but spectacularly useless veg) has to be the Victorian favourite the Cardoon, but as an ornament, 'Painted Lady' runners run up something interesting would be an eye-catcher...

OM.

[Deleted]

andy said:

I'll defo get some seed next spring. I'm going to try to persuade my bosses to plant up an area of nothing but ornamental veg etc.....artichokes, ornamental sweetcorn, ornamental beetroot, chard, lettuce, fennel etc etc

Any suggestions for an ornamental veg/herb/salad bed ?

Angelica is very pretty/ornamental

There is a variety of Kale called Jersey Walking Stick - honest which can grow to an impressive 2m and apparently you can use the stick to make a walking stick (I'm full of useless information ;D)

And what about decorative ornamental gourds - you can't eat 'em, but you do get some crazy/interesting shapes