Bill Reader

I keep a small garden, and because of crop rotation issues I have to skip growing certain vegetables from time to time. I’ll grow onions every other year, potatoes once every three years, soybeans for edamame once in a great while. But aside from the asparagus bed, I make it a point to plant four things every single year: pole beans, tomatoes, garlic, and ... swiss chard.

The first three might make sense – they’re about the most versatile veggies one can grow, and store-bought just doesn’t cut it for flavor or nutrition. The same goes for the lowly chard – in fact, I find that chard is just about the most essential vegetable crop I grow each year.

The reasons are many. First off, swiss chard is incredibly easy to grow – start it indoors a few weeks before the last frost, put it in the garden once the soil reaches about 50° F/10° C, and let it be. About a month later you can start snipping off the first stalks, and enjoy it all summer and right up to the killing frosts of autumn. It won’t bolt if you forget to pick it for a few days, and like the hydra will grow faster and stronger the more you harvest.