'Rainbow' Chard

Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris

Origin: Mediterranean

Improvement status: Breeding population

Seeds per packet: ~100

Germination tested 11/2023: 98%

Life cycle: Biennial

From Wild Dreams Farm on Vashon Island, Washington, comes a classic rainbow chard mix great for everyday use. Stems come in a range of colors including white, yellow, orange, red, and pink, with leaves being mainly green, some tinted red or purple. This population has long stems good for bunching.

Nate's favorite way to use chard is to thinly chop the stems and roughly chop the leaves for a filling salad mixed with shredded carrots, mayo, and sriracha (plus whatever else seems good at the time: soy sauce, honey, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sesame oil, nori, parsley, parsley root, celery, celery root, horseradish, wasabi, etc), with or without a can of tuna, sardines, salmon or trout for some protein!

GROWING TIPS: Chard is very easy to grow. Sow seeds in early spring around the last frost date. Like other beets, seeds are often clumps of embryos, so thinning is usally necessry. Thin plants to around 6-10 inches apart for maximum production. Chard is biennial, so in milder climates it will produce leaves all winter before flowering in year 2. It is wind-pollinated, so it might cross with other beets grown anywhere nearby (including sugar-beets, of which commercial GMO varieties do exist, so beware of neighboring farmers who might have sugar-beets going to seed if you intend to save your own).