How to Harvest and Store Swiss Chard

Harvesting chard is best done with a clean and sharp pair of garden scissors or a knife. Sever leaves at the base of the plant. New leaves will grow quickly. Swiss chard can be stored for one to two weeks if refrigerated.

How do you store fresh picked Swiss chard?
Does Swiss chard regrow?
Does chard grow back after cutting?
How do you store swiss chard in the fridge?
Can you freeze Swiss chard raw?
What can I do with lots of Swiss chard?
Does Swiss chard come back every year?
Is chard annual or perennial?
Can Swiss chard get too big?
Can you eat raw Swiss chard?
Can I grow Chard in pots?

How do you store fresh picked Swiss chard?

Wrap chard loosely in a damp paper towel and store in an unsealed plastic bag in the crisper. It will keep well for a few days up to a week. Younger, smaller leaves will turn faster.

Does Swiss chard regrow?

An impressive plant reaching up to two feet in height, Swiss chard, Beta vulgaris, belongs to the same family as spinach and is similar in taste. ... Harvest either by cutting just the outer stalks with scissors or a sharp knife or cut a whole young plant off an inch or two above the soil. It will regrow.

Does chard grow back after cutting?

Chard is best treated as a “cut-and-come-again” crop. This harvesting technique involves taking only a few older leaves at a time from each plant, allowing younger leaves to continue growing for additional harvests later in the season.

How do you store swiss chard in the fridge?

Do not wash Swiss chard before storing as the exposure to water encourages spoilage. Place chard in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag tightly around the chard, squeezing out as much of the air from the bag as possible. Place in refrigerator where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days.

Can you freeze Swiss chard raw?

Swiss chard is a very nutritious leafy green. It is used raw in tossed salads, and it can also be cooked like spinach, kale, or collard greens. If you have a lot of chard and you don't want to waste any, you can preserve it by blanching and freezing it for up to a year.

What can I do with lots of Swiss chard?

Swiss chard (also known simply as chard) is a leafy green vegetable that is related to beets and spinach. It is rich in vitamins A, C and especially K, and it is also a good source of magnesium, iron and potassium. Chard can be steamed or sauteed, and it's great in soups, stews, casseroles, frittatas and quiches.

Does Swiss chard come back every year?

Chard is a biennial plant, meaning it has a two year life cycle, but it is cultivated as an annual in the vegetable garden and harvested in its first season of growth. Once it begins to flower and set seed in its second year, its leaves turn bitter and unpalatable.

Is chard annual or perennial?

Swiss chard is an annual leafy crop and the leaves and petioles (leaf stalks) may be eaten. Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable and the leaves are poisonous; we only eat the petioles.

Can Swiss chard get too big?

If you water them enough, Swiss chard can grow up to be two feet tall! If you harvest them when the leaves are smaller, they will keep producing more leaves like cut-and-come again salad greens.

Can you eat raw Swiss chard?

Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw Swiss chard is less bitter than cooked. A bunch of raw Swiss chard will cook to a much smaller amount. ... Sauté, steam or cook the stalks in a pan with water (1/2 cup per bunch) first, then add the leaves and cook until wilted.

Can I grow Chard in pots?

Choose small young plants (not ones whose roots are already circling round, tightly bound in the pot) and tuck them in 15-20cm (6-8in) apart around the edges of large containers. Alternatively, give them a deep pot of their own with the same nutrient-rich compost. For extra colour add a few small-flowered pansies.