Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

Ma asked me what it was like and i said,
"Yummy, like beets, but greener!" this mix
is four colors, so i will be curious as to how
they do here. i've always loved it, always
wanted to grow some, but until now we've not
had the space in the fenced garden for a plant
like this, but now it's in. i'm looking
forwards to learning yet another thing this
year.

Ha! Reminds me of my experience with Swiss chard. Based on what I
now know to be faulty memories of chard, I planted a red-stemmed variety
("ruby") in January just to see.... Damned things taste like beet tops;
ugh. After one meal, we literally sheared the tops, cooked and froze
them and gave them to a neighbor who eats almost anything. Composted the
roots.

i wouldn't bother if you don't like beets.
the whole idea is to get a nice beet green
that has huge leaves. make a green burrito
using one leaf. yumyum.


Unconvinced of their total unpalatability, I have my eye on a green
variety of chard that is purported to do well in FL:
http://sustainableseedco.com/Lucullus-Chard-Seeds.html. Gonna try'em
in the fall; maybe they're milder in flavor. If not, then I'll have to
move the chard to the "don't bother" list.

good luck. when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks. to me
that is part of their appeal. they smell and
taste a lot like dirt, but sweeter and redder
and a lot less wear on the teef.


At any rate, down here, chard seems to be relatively pest free,
compared to spinach and other tender greens. The major pest was some
kind of tiny green "worm" larva that was easily controlled by Bt.
However, my garden is not a fair example because the same nematodes I
use for root knot control also significantly reduce populations of
certain flies, including leaf miners.

i'm not seeing leaf miners here much at
all.


i think they will be a good refuge type plant for the good bugs.
What does that mean?

that means a plant that is left in place when
the rest of the garden is in between plantings.
like leaving one alfalfa plant growing in the
middle of a 7x7ft garden so that the ladybugs
have a place to be until the seeds for the next
planting sprout.

as we turn more and more of the perennial
gardens into veggie gardens and with all the
crushed limestone we have in the pathways
there's not a lot of plants in some areas. if
i want to keep good bugs around i better have
some green space always available. preferably
some flowers and a water source too as that
helps keep the birds and bees around.


songbird

If you like pickled beets, try pickling the chard stems. Just cut them the
length of you jars, pack and pickle them. The rainbow chard is very pretty
canned this way.
Steve
"songbird" wrote in message
...
Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

Ma asked me what it was like and i said,
"Yummy, like beets, but greener!" this mix
is four colors, so i will be curious as to how
they do here. i've always loved it, always
wanted to grow some, but until now we've not
had the space in the fenced garden for a plant
like this, but now it's in. i'm looking
forwards to learning yet another thing this
year.

Ha! Reminds me of my experience with Swiss chard. Based on what I
now know to be faulty memories of chard, I planted a red-stemmed variety
("ruby") in January just to see.... Damned things taste like beet tops;
ugh. After one meal, we literally sheared the tops, cooked and froze
them and gave them to a neighbor who eats almost anything. Composted the
roots.

i wouldn't bother if you don't like beets.
the whole idea is to get a nice beet green
that has huge leaves. make a green burrito
using one leaf. yumyum.


Unconvinced of their total unpalatability, I have my eye on a green
variety of chard that is purported to do well in FL:
http://sustainableseedco.com/Lucullus-Chard-Seeds.html. Gonna try'em
in the fall; maybe they're milder in flavor. If not, then I'll have to
move the chard to the "don't bother" list.

good luck. when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks. to me
that is part of their appeal. they smell and
taste a lot like dirt, but sweeter and redder
and a lot less wear on the teef.


At any rate, down here, chard seems to be relatively pest free,
compared to spinach and other tender greens. The major pest was some
kind of tiny green "worm" larva that was easily controlled by Bt.
However, my garden is not a fair example because the same nematodes I
use for root knot control also significantly reduce populations of
certain flies, including leaf miners.

i'm not seeing leaf miners here much at
all.


i think they will be a good refuge type plant for the good bugs.
What does that mean?

that means a plant that is left in place when
the rest of the garden is in between plantings.
like leaving one alfalfa plant growing in the
middle of a 7x7ft garden so that the ladybugs
have a place to be until the seeds for the next
planting sprout.

as we turn more and more of the perennial
gardens into veggie gardens and with all the
crushed limestone we have in the pathways
there's not a lot of plants in some areas. if
i want to keep good bugs around i better have
some green space always available. preferably
some flowers and a water source too as that
helps keep the birds and bees around.


songbird

Steve Peek wrote:

If you like pickled beets, try pickling the chard stems. Just cut them the
length of you jars, pack and pickle them. The rainbow chard is very pretty
canned this way.

i'll likely do that if we have extra.
diced and added to pickled beets or three
bean salad. if we have a huge amount then
i'll try canning whole stalks in a small
batch for gifts.

we like to use the beets and three bean
salad as a topping for salads, larger pieces
don't work so well for that application.


songbird

"songbird" wrote in message
when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks.

Hmmpf! Obviously the person who thinks that must be a seriously bad cook if
that is how they taste to them. I'd stop reading any hints or tips from
them.


that means a plant that is left in place when
the rest of the garden is in between plantings.
like leaving one alfalfa plant growing in the
middle of a 7x7ft garden so that the ladybugs
have a place to be until the seeds for the next
planting sprout.

IIRC, the ubellifera family are the best bug hosts. I'd not heard of
lucerne (alfalfa) being a bug haven.

Farm1 wrote:
songbird wrote:

when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks.

Hmmpf! Obviously the person who thinks that must be a seriously bad cook if
that is how they taste to them. I'd stop reading any hints or tips from
them.

oh dear! i think they are a fine cook as they
win many awards. they simply do not like beets.
and i've never noted the person saying things
about cooking that would make me suspect they
don't know what they are doing.


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:

they simply do not like beets.

Tastes do vary. Some of them are genetic variations (in people) and
others are just preference.

In the former category, cilantro, or as I call it, moldy-sock-plant,
which restaurants have become frond of tossing in things where they
don't mention it on the menu. AKA Mexican parsley and fresh coriander. I
can taste the revolting crap in dishes where people that like the stuff
can't. I can think of no method of preparing a substance that tastes
like mouldy socks that would in any way appeal to me. Well, perhaps
gathering 100% of the worldwide genetic stock someplace and roasting at
5000 degrees for 16 hours would do it. ;-)

In the "probably latter but I don't know" the entire brassica family.
Saurkraut is the only thing from there I can stand, and I suspect it's
because the notorious stink of krauting is the removal of an obnoxious
sulfur compound I cannot stand, otherwise typical of the family.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:
songbird wrote:

when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks.

Hmmpf! Obviously the person who thinks that must be a seriously bad
cook if that is how they taste to them. I'd stop reading any hints
or tips from them.

oh dear! i think they are a fine cook as they
win many awards. they simply do not like beets.
and i've never noted the person saying things
about cooking that would make me suspect they
don't know what they are doing.


songbird

Maybe it wasn't the preparation. Silverbeet can get very strong and
metallic in flavour if it is too old, typically such leaves are dark
coloured and thick. You need to keep the leaves coming so you can cut them
at a good size but young.

D

"songbird" wrote in message
...
Farm1 wrote:
songbird wrote:

when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks.

Hmmpf! Obviously the person who thinks that must be a seriously bad cook
if
that is how they taste to them. I'd stop reading any hints or tips from
them.

oh dear! i think they are a fine cook as they
win many awards. they simply do not like beets.
and i've never noted the person saying things
about cooking that would make me suspect they
don't know what they are doing.

"Dirt chunks" should have been a dead giveaway.

Farm1 wrote:
....
IIRC, the ubellifera family are the best bug hosts. I'd not heard of
lucerne (alfalfa) being a bug haven.

i'm finding lichens and tropical plants
for that family. not sure what plants you
might really be meaning here. latin or
taxonomy have never been my strong points.


songbird

"songbird" wrote in message
...
Farm1 wrote:
...
IIRC, the ubellifera family are the best bug hosts. I'd not heard of
lucerne (alfalfa) being a bug haven.

i'm finding lichens and tropical plants
for that family. not sure what plants you
might really be meaning here. latin or
taxonomy have never been my strong points.

I left out an 'm'. It's 'umbellifera'. Think 'carrot' family - carrot,
parsnip, Queen Anne's lace etc.

Farm1 wrote:
....
I left out an 'm'. It's 'umbellifera'. Think 'carrot' family - carrot,
parsnip, Queen Anne's lace etc.

ah, ok, yes, we have gobs of queen-annes-lace
here. i have to continually weed it or we will
be overrun. it flowers a little later than the
alfalfa.

it's funny because i was thinking "umbrella"
when i first read what you wrote.


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:
...
IIRC, the ubellifera family are the best bug hosts. I'd not heard of
lucerne (alfalfa) being a bug haven.

i'm finding lichens and tropical plants
for that family. not sure what plants you
might really be meaning here. latin or
taxonomy have never been my strong points.

Look for "Apiaceae". Parsley, celery, anise, coriander, dill,
fennel, cumin, and more.
....

i like all of them. my own cooking times in the
past i've used them. now i don't cook as much so
have to limit my plantings to what will be used or
it is a waste of space and effort.

with okra, chard and turnips i'm hoping to widen the
cooking palette, but i think she's already determined
she won't like the turnips. i have a good chance with
the chard. okra, doubtful, it might be too much like
black pepper. we'll see.

we lost cabbage this past year, she won't cook
with it any longer other than saurkraut. to
me that is about the whole point of veggie soup...


songbird

"Derald" wrote in message
m...
songbird wrote:

i wouldn't bother if you don't like beets.
Oh, no, no: We likes the beet roots; just not the leaves. Years
ago, DW&I were enjoying some kind of red-veined chard that we were
buying from one of those "natural" food grocers. Having never grown
chard, I just arbitrarily picked something pretty from the seed catalog.
Shoot, prettiness is as good a criterion as any for the first time, eh?
I'll try something different this fall. If anyone has suggestions (about
chard, y'all), I'm all eyes.

Can you get 'Fordhook Giant' in the US? This is the variety of silver beet
(chard) I've grown for decades.

Farm1 wrote:
....
Can you get 'Fordhook Giant' in the US? This is the variety of silver beet
(chard) I've grown for decades.

yes, at least i just saw it in the display the
other day and it was from Burpee so it should be
available a fair number of other places too.

does it get red stems? the kind i used to eat
regularly had very bright red stems and veins.


songbird

songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:
...
Can you get 'Fordhook Giant' in the US? This is the variety of
silver beet (chard) I've grown for decades.

yes, at least i just saw it in the display the
other day and it was from Burpee so it should be
available a fair number of other places too.

does it get red stems?

no

the kind i used to eat
regularly had very bright red stems and veins.


songbird

D