Chard beetroot: variety description, cultivation and care with photo

Chard beetroot is not yet familiar to everyone, although it is quite widespread. Only the leaves of this plant are edible. To grow it on your site, you should familiarize yourself with the characteristics of leaf beets, as well as the necessary care for the plant.

Few gardeners plant it on their plots. Although it is useful and great for eating. The leaves of the plant in terms of their content of nutrients and vitamins are not inferior to table beets.

Growing chard is similar to growing regular beets.The existing differences relate only to landing and some issues of caring for it. This is a fairly unpretentious plant and produces a crop all year round, provided it is grown in a heated greenhouse, and in open beds - from early spring to frost.

Description of chard

Leaf chard belongs to the Amaranth family, to the genus Beetroot. All parts of the plant are suitable for food, except for the roots. This culture is popular in European countries, Japan and the USA.

Features:

• In the first year of cultivation, this plant produces only green mass, and in the second year it forms seeds.
• The leaves taste like young beets.
• This plant is highly resistant to cold climatic conditions. It successfully grows at an air temperature of + 6-7 degrees. This property allows sowing seeds in open ground starting from April.If planting is carried out in the middle of summer, then the greens are harvested in autumn.

Sowing this crop is carried out both by seed and seedlings to get an earlier harvest.

Please note that sowing chard can be done in the fall to harvest fresh herbs in early spring.

Basic Care Requirements

This variety of greens does not require special conditions for growing. But in order to get a crop in the form of large leaves, you should regularly water and apply a small amount of mineral fertilizers dissolved in water. Do not recommend the use of nitrogen fertilizers because they cause nitrate accumulation in the foliage.

The collection of leaves is carried out gradually, cutting off the lower leaves. This is a biennial plant. Therefore, powerful roots can be left in the garden for the winter, covered with mulch. The next year, in the spring, the plant will start producing edible shoots again.

Growing Requirements

Chard grows on almost all types of soil substrates. But the highest collection of foliage in fertile areas. Therefore, when drawing up a crop rotation plan, one should provide for planting this crop in those areas that were fertilized with organic fertilizers in the previous year.

Planting is carried out when the soil warms up to a depth of 3-4 cm. When sowing at an earlier date, the bed is covered with a film to activate germination. Usually, after germination of plants, thinning is carried out. As the bushes grow, they are spudded to strengthen the root system.

Ways to use beet chard leaves

Since the green mass of chard contains a large amount of vitamins and substances useful for the human body, it is included in the diet like spinach or other leafy crops.

It is indicated for people diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, as well as those who have a reduced level of red blood cells. The use of such leaves with high blood pressure has a positive effect. It has been noticed that when green leaves are included in the diet, the immune system is strengthened, and liver function also improves.

Cheese is added as an ingredient to salads. Dense petioles are not thrown away either. They are stewed, used for pickling and even fermented for the winter.

Variety of chard varieties

Several varieties are used for growing chard chard. Their difference lies in the color of the petioles (green, scarlet), according to the ripening period and the purpose of the foliage. By the method of cultivation, they practically do not differ.

Swiss red chard is planted from mid-April when temperatures are stable. The planted bed is covered with a film. With this method, conditions are created for faster germination of seeds.

This variety is characterized by reduced activity in the flowering process. The first crop can be harvested 40-45 days after planting the seeds. This type of beet has a large rosette. Therefore, it must be thinned out as it grows. If the climatic conditions are dry, then watering is recommended.

The Emerald chard variety has a relatively late ripening. It takes at least 2 months from planting seeds and emergence of seedlings to the first harvest. This culture has small rosettes and very large, juicy petioles. They are often used for stewing or marinating.

Rules for planting and care

Preparation of beds for sowing chard is carried out in autumn. Since the root system of this crop penetrates deep into the soil, deep digging should be carried out. It is optimal to dig to a depth of at least 30 cm.At this time, if necessary, make a small amount of humus and potash fertilizer. If the soil is clayey and heavy, then the leaves will be dense and rough. But if the soil is fertile enough, then it is not necessary to fertilize it.

Method of germinating seeds

To ensure rapid germination of seeds planted in the ground, they are pre-soaked for 2 days in water. A handful of seeds are wrapped in damp gauze and placed in a warm place. If the soil is fertile and light, then soaking is optional.

Usually, the time of planting chard coincides with the planting of potatoes. At this time, the soil warms up to the required level.

In the case of planting seeds in spring in cold soil, this is fraught with the appearance of seed arrows, and not leaf mass. To protect plants from such a process, the bed is covered with a film to maintain moisture and maintain temperature.

Planting seeds is carried out in shallow furrows (about 3 cm). Shoots appear after 2 weeks. The first loosening is recommended after the appearance of several leaves on the plants. At the same time, excess plants are removed. Weaker plants should be pulled out.

This crop can be grown in seedlings. Transplanting seedlings into the ground is carried out after the soil warms up to at least +10 degrees.

Follow-up care consists in the timely loosening of the soil and thinning of the bushes. Chard is watered infrequently because it is tolerant of drought conditions. Only with significant drying of the soil is additional moisture carried out.

In the conditions of heated greenhouses, Swiss chard is produced even in winter. In closed greenhouses, watering is carried out approximately once a week.At the same time, liquid mineral fertilizers are applied. Too high a temperature is unacceptable for this culture, this can cause the formation of arrows.

Propagation and harvesting methods

This culture is planted not only with seeds or seedlings, but also with roots. When planting roots, leave a growth point on the surface. They quickly take root in the conditions of the required humidity and temperature, and later form a green mass.

The roots are left in the soil until the next season. A bed with planted rhizomes is covered with mulch. With this method, it is possible to get a very early harvest; already in mid-April, the first greens are cut in the southern regions.

Even planting this plant in a pot on the windowsill, you can pluck juicy leaves and use for salads. In this way, you can harvest green foliage in any season of the year.

Cut the leaves from the outside, as the outlet will continue to form a new green mass. The more you cut the leaves, the more magnificent this bush subsequently becomes, releasing more and more new shoots.

Pests and diseases

The chard is considered a disease resistant plant, but is sometimes affected by powdery mildew. This happens when planting in beds that have already been affected by a fungal infection.

Of the pests, beet aphids and earthen fleas are the most dangerous. To cope with them, plants are sprayed with ready-made insecticides, infusion of onion scales, or other well-known folk methods.

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