After a weekend of sun and stillness, a few welcome winter winds blew into town today, leaving my gardens covered in a blanket of fire-orange Crape Myrtle leaves. Hopefully, this is a sign of cold weather to come -- lately, Dallas weather can't seem to make up its mind, and I'm quite ready to have an excuse to drink hot cider. (I love the old joke that we only have three seasons here in Dallas: cold, hot, and hotter. Or even better, "If you don't like the weather here, just wait five minutes.")
Amid the oranges and browns and yellows of the changing landscape, however, there are signs of new life in the Xylem & Phloem garden. The most exciting of all these new beginnings are my Bright Lights Swiss chard seedlings (Beta vulgaris cicla). This is the first time that I have tried growing Swiss chard, and I look forward to harvesting the first mature leaves this weekend and enjoying them with dinner. (Delicious Swiss chard Recipe at the bottom of the entry.)
Did you know that, historically, the juice from chard was used as a decongestant? (I didn't either, but I learned that nifty fact when reading up on Swiss chard in the most indispensible book ever published: The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, by Michael Murray. Go buy this book today, and put it in your kitchen.)
Not only is Swiss Chard a graceful and elegant plant in the garden, it is also one of nature's superfoods. Murray writes:
"The combination of traditional nutrients; phytochemicals, particularly carotenes, chlorophyll, and other plant pigments; and soluble fiber makes Swiss chard one of the most powerful anticancer foods, particularly against digestive tract cancers. Several research studies on Swiss chard focus specifically on colon cancer, where the incidence of precancerious lesions in animals has been found to be significantly reduced following dietary intake of Swiss chard extracts."
Gosh. That makes me want to run out and cram a handful of the stuff in my mouth right now.
It's also relatively easy to grow. All it needs is plenty of direct sunlight, moderate water, and compost-enriched soil. And voilá! You've got a cancer-fighter growing right out of the dirt, darn it!
This is also a wonderful time of year to grow greens in our area. The fall rains coupled with cooler temperatures create a very hospitable environment for greens. Because most garden centers don't carry many chard seedlings meant for consumption until early spring, your best bet is to grow them from seed. I grow greens two ways: putting the seeds directly into the garden in mid-October, and starting seeds in a growing medium under grow lights, then transplanting the seedlings when they have at least four true-leaves on them.
If you direct-seed, keep the soil moist throughout germination. Any periods of dryness will halt growth and could result in stunted plants. Side-dress the seedlings and mature plants with compost every two or three weeks, but watch out for weeds. (As a good rule of thumb, remember that if you're feeding your plants, you're probably feeding some weeds, too.) Pinch out weeds early before they start to compete with the seedlings for water and nutrients.
This time, I used seeds from Botanical Interests, but Seeds of Change is one of my favorite sources for vegetable seeds. In early spring, I can usually find good-looking greens seedlings at Petal Pushers Garden Emporium in Cedar Hill. (I wish that they had a Web site, but you'll just have to take my word that it is an amazing place. I buy most of my perennials there.)
So, go forth and plant some Swiss chard! You'll be very glad you did when your garden is glowing and your body is happy and healthy with all of those powerful antioxidants.
I found this recipe for preparing Swiss chard in the magazine Body + Soul:
Continue reading "Plant Obsession: The Incredible, Edible Swiss Chard" »
