Chard
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 Chard
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| Beta vulgaris var. cicla (L.) K.Koch |
Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known as Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach or Mangold, is a leaf vegetable, and is one of the cultivated descendants of the Sea Beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. While used for its leaves, it is in the same species as the garden beet, which is grown primarily for its roots.
Chard has shiny green ribbed leaves, with stems that range from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a slightly bitter taste. The leaves are generally treated in the same way as spinach and the stems like asparagus. Fresh young chard can also be used raw in salads.
Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant', as well as red-ribbed forms such as 'Ruby Chard', 'Rainbow Chard', and 'Rhubarb Chard'.
Modern cladistic botanical taxonomic systems such as that of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group place chard and the other beets in family Amaranthaceae, but the older systems more likely to be encountered in horticultural sources place them in a family Chenopodiaceae.
[edit] Cultivation
Chard will grow in ordinary garden soil but, like beets, it is best to keep the pH above 6. It may be planted in rows or in beds similarly to spinach but is not susceptible to bolting and can tolerate both hot and cold conditions. Individual well grown plants can become quite large, with leaves two feet tall, but crowded plants will still produce well. The plant is useful to the home gardener since it can be harvested, leaf by leaf, well into the fall and even after the first frosts.
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