Contents
Chard or Swiss chard is a spring herbaceous vegetable that is famous for its beneficial properties and original taste. For many Western countries, this culture is considered quite familiar and it is grown on an industrial scale. In Our Country, chard can be found more often in the beds of individual amateur gardeners. Below we will acquaint you in detail with the beneficial properties of this product, options for use and features of cultivation and care.
Use and contraindications
The ancient Romans knew about the beneficial properties of chard. They used it as a laxative. The leaves and petioles contain a large amount of vitamins and microelements (potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins C, B, B2, PP, carotene, carbohydrates).
Many experts recommend using this vegetable for spring beriberi. The plant also helps with diseases of the liver, intestines and cardiovascular system.
Speaking about the beneficial properties of the culture, it is important to note the anti-inflammatory effect. Boiled leaves are used as compresses for burns and abrasions. Often used as an aid in the treatment of diabetes, cancer, radiation sickness, hepatitis and neurosis. The beneficial properties of these juicy leaves are also applicable in cosmetology for face and hair care. Chard juice is used to remove freckles and treat baldness.
Chard can be consumed raw or cooked. The entire ground part of the plant is suitable for cooking – petioles and leaves. Leaf beets can be marinated, boiled, stewed. Often it is added to soups and salads, for example, vinaigrette. If you stew chard in butter, you get an excellent side dish for meat. The taste of this product is similar to spinach and sorrel. A noticeable sourness gives vitamin C, which is contained here in large volumes.
There are practically no contraindications to the use of chard. In rare cases, individual intolerance may develop. In addition, you need to carefully apply fresh juice from the leaves. It contains a high concentration of volatile substances, which are known for their dangerous properties. With the abuse of juice, nausea, a decrease in heart rate, vomiting, drowsiness, and a decrease in blood pressure can be observed.
Landing
To get beautiful leaves of rich green color with scarlet, yellow and orange petioles, you need to know a few basic rules for growing and caring. Chard is a biennial crop and is planted with seeds. To get a good harvest, experts advise not to rush into spring planting and make sure that night frosts have already passed. Although, in general, the plant satisfactorily tolerates a drop in temperature below + 5 °. Sowing seeds is recommended to plan for the beginning of May. Leaf beets, like ordinary beets, love sunny areas, so choose the most lit place in the garden for growing.
For planting, you need to prepare the ridges. The distance between rows should be at least 35 centimeters. The depth of seed placement is 2-3 centimeters. The first shoots appear after 3 weeks. Like other crops, chard requires thinning. When the first 2-3 sprouts appear on the surface of the earth, they break through, leaving 30 centimeters of free space each. To get tall and juicy leaves, you need to pay attention to the properties of the soil. The culture loves fertile soils with a sufficient percentage of compost and a neutral pH level.
Video “Mangold – beets”
Care
Irrigation plays a major role in growing and caring for chard. Moisture levels must be monitored very carefully. This culture loves moisture, but at the same time it reacts equally badly to both its deficiency and excess. Watering should be planned based on the existing climatic and weather conditions. Chard care also includes loosening the soil. This technique allows you to saturate the earth with oxygen and speed up its delivery to the roots. If you plan your care correctly, then after 2 months you will be able to enjoy this healthy and tasty product.
During the cultivation of beets, you can do top dressing. Mineral fertilizers are applied in a low concentration – 0,5 teaspoons of the drug per 10 liters of water. This amount of the mixture is enough to process 1 square meter. Be careful with nitrogen supplements. They are applied in strictly limited quantities at the beginning of the growing season. Experts focus the attention of gardeners on the property of chard to accumulate nitrates during cultivation. The mandatory care program also includes breaking off flower stalks.
Reproduction
This crop is propagated by seeds. Seed plants mature in the second year. When they begin to dry out, they are cut off and hung in a well-ventilated place to dry completely. Then the seeds are separated from the tops and packed in paper bags.
In most cases, cultivation is planned for the spring, but if you live in a region with warm winters, you can practice winter planting to get fresh leaves filled with useful elements in the spring. In the case of a cold climate and prolonged cold weather, it makes sense to prepare seedlings on the windowsill so as not to wait a long time for the seeds to germinate.
Diseases
Speaking about the cultivation and care of chard, one cannot get around the topic of diseases and pests. Most of all, this culture is subject to powdery mildew attacks. This fungal disease affects young stems.
A white coating appears on them, similar to flour. Timely cleaning of the site from dry and rotten tops, as well as moderate watering, helps to avoid such a scourge. If you notice a fungus on the stems, remove them and throw them away from the planting to prevent the spread of the disease.
With excessive watering and acidic soils, a disease such as root beetle can develop. Overcoming the disease helps the timely introduction of potassium supplements. Of the pests, chard is affected by earthen fleas and beet aphids. To combat them, the beds are sprinkled with a mixture of wood ash and tobacco, and irrigation is also done with onion tincture. For 10 liters of water you will need 300 grams of onions. All these remedies have deterrent properties and do not harm the plant itself.
Video “Sowing chard”
From the video you will learn how to sow chard or Swiss chard, as it is sometimes called.
