How long has the chard been planted in your garden? Was it a fast germinater or a slow garminater?
Ted
I put them in Tuesday or Wednesday. They are indoors under lights to get a little burst before I put them out and frankly the frost the other night is making me nervous as a first time seed starter.
Dixana,
Chard was one of the plants I decided to buy seeds for before I'd even eaten it since I figure everything can be altered to taste. Since then I picked some up at the store it's great braised in tomato sauce or braised and tossed with tomatoes and feta. The young leaves are also good in salads.
Chard works in any recipe that would use spinach including salads, etc. I made a swiss chard lasagna last year following the spinach lasagna recipe but substituting chard. I thought it came out better than the spinach version.
TZ, thanks! I will put it on my list for next year. Don't have room for them this year. I've never eaten or even seen a "green when ripe" tomato. I've thought about them, but I'm not sure how you know when they are ripe. If they start out growing green and they are green when ripe. How do you know when they are ripe?
I do have a few tomatoes which I think taste absolutely the best when they still have green shoulders. I guess the best example is my Juliet cherry tomatoes. They are small plum size fruit, that turns a beautiful red when ripe. They are very sweet when ripe. I eat them between pink and red with green shoulders and they still have an acidic bite that appeals to me. I like to just snack on them in the garden.
I've tried to cover the premium red, pinks, orange, and blacks this year. Next year, I will go for green and yellow and striped. I guess what keeps my motor running is the fact that somewhere in those 6800 varieties I haven't tried, may lie the "perfect" tomato. I just have to find it.
I went to Home Depot today to start collecting the materials to make two more beds for this summers late crops including some heirloom tomatoes. I also will add another twenty four foot bed this coming winter. Will it never end?
Oh snap, Gixx beat me to it - I was going to say, Ted, if you want to try Black from Tula, I'll be happy to send you some seeds... And from the greens, if you want, I have some Aunt Ruby's German Green seeds if you want to try...
There are two ways to pick GWR tomatoes. The first is to do it at night (or close your eyes) and determine by softness. The second is to go by color. Most have yellow epidermis, which give the fruit an amber cast when they ripen. Even Green Giant, which has a clear epidermis, turns white and or gets a little yellow color on the blossom end when it ripens, so after the first one or two fuits it is pretty easy to tell when to pick.
The only problem with GWR tomatoes is that they turn a yucky muddy olive drab color when cooked so it is a little bit odd eating spaghetti sauce made from them, but they tend to be very juicy, like bicolors, so take too long to cook down for sauce so its not a big loss.
Thanks Dono and Duh-Vinci! I'm going to germinate the BFT when I get them and wait for next years garden to try the green tomatoes. Who knows, I may just like the ones I am growing this year so much, that I may not want to try any more. (I don't really believe that. I believe curiosity will overcome complacency)
