I grow a variety called Charlotte, has red stems and leaf veins. Doesn't
get as big as Fordhook, tastes better than Fordhook and the brightly
colored variety to me and produces well in our hot, humid climate.

George

Scott Parker wrote:

On Sun, 13 Apr 2003 10:52:25 +1200, "Anna Merchant"
wrote:

I as looking at seeds today for some silverbeet, nd noticed 3 differing
varieties available there. Fordhork Giant, Dwarf Compact, and some other
variety I cant remember. Do these taste any different, and does anyone have
any success with some of them? I bought the Dwarf Compact one, so will see
how they go.

Over the years I've tried many different varieties of silverbeet (also
called chard or Swiss chard). At first I didn't think there was any
significant difference in flavor among the ones with pale stems. But
last year I tried a variety called Silverado and it is now my official
flavor favorite.

Silverbeet (Swiss chard) is one of the easiest things to grow around
here (West Coast Marine climate). It produces continuously and can
survive almost all winters here in Vancouver, B.C. Then, early in the
spring, before anything else has had a chance to get going, it
produces new, edible leaves and shoots. In fact, we had our first
serving of overwintered chard a week ago. Being a biannual plant, the
overwintered chard will go to seed, but, if we keep the shoots cut
back, not before the new year's spinach is just about ready to be
picked.

Scott

...Compost: a heap of goodness for your garden.