Chard times!

Attractive, tasty and easy to grow – what’s not to love about this versatile veg?

IMAGINE a kitchen garden version of the TV dating hit Love Island, where all of t he contestants are vegetables. Types that are easy on t he eye would pair up quickly to retain their place i n the show. Sadly, those l ess blessed in the looks department would remain on the shelf and find themselves eliminated.

As a twist to shake things up, producers decide to drop a new vegetable on to the island with the show’s finale tantalisingly close.

Enter Swiss chard, with its muscular form, colourful stems and glossy leaves. It is so darned attractive that it’s bound to ruffle a few feathers by turning the heads of crops already spoken for.

Yet Swiss chard is more than just a pretty face. Behind that flashy exterior is a vegetable so tasty that it has become a mainstay of French, Italian and Spanish cuisine. The mild, earthy-flavoured leaves can be eaten like spinach, while the stems are perfect for sauteing whole or chopping into soups, stews and gratins.

This striking, delicious and productive crop is easy to raise from seeds sown now, either in the ground or containers. They will germinate quickly, forming statuesque clumps of boltupright stems that can be harvested as early as October and will continue to provide pickings until April.

Despite its common name, Swiss chard actually comes from the Mediterranean and is believed to have developed from sea beet.

Confusingly, it possesses a host of other popular names, including silver beet, perpetual spinach, Sicilian beet and Roman kale.

The vegetable has been cultivated for thousands of years and was prized by many ancient civilisations. It arrived on our shores in the 16th Century, with

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The coloured stems of Bright Lights, top. Above: Fordhook Giant leading botanist and author John Gerard being among early devotees. He grew his first crop in 1596 and was impressed that its seeds produced plants of variable colour.

Today, there are lots of different named varieties with stems in shades of white, yellow, orange, pink, red and purple, along with some that have two- tone stalks. These are topped with huge green, bronze or burgundy leaves that are so glossy that they look as if they have been buffed by a professional shoe-shiner.

Chard can be started from seeds in spring or late summer. Those sown at this time of year will provide pickings from autumn until spring, as long as plants are protected from frost with cloches, low tunnels or sheets of horticultural fleece. Seeds set in spring will result in plants that can be harvested in summer.

Prepare the soil for sowing by breaking up the surface with a fork, removing any weeds and large stones, and then raking vigorously until the clods have all gone, leaving a fine, even finish that resembles the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Shuffle over the surface on your heels to firm and rake again to level.

Using the corner of the rake, make a 1in-deep furrow. Trickle seeds thinly along the bottom, cover with soil and water gently using a can fitted with a rose, or a sprinkler attached to a hose.

If you are planning on raising a bumper crop, leave a gap of about 14 in between rows.

Once they have germinated, thin out seedlings to leave them 12 in apart – don’t bin the thinnings as they are perfect for adding interest to salads. Keep the plants well watered, especially during periods of dry weather, and feed every couple of weeks with a highnitrogen fertiliser.

Those who are strapped for space can grow Swiss chard in containers. Start by sowing ten seeds on the surface of a 3in pot, covering with a 1in layer of compost. Move each seedling into a small pot once it is large enough t o handle. When well rooted, arrange five plants in an 18in pot of multi-purpose compost.

Leaves will be ready for harvesting in about 12 weeks. Remove what you need from around the outside of plants using scissors, encouraging fresh growth from the centre. Alternatively, cut the entire head to ground level, stimulating a fresh flush of leaves to develop.

Colourful stems are a mainstay of Italian and French cooking