Swiss Chard Barese

The scrumptious sweet leaves of Barese are a dark glossy green, they can be harvested after just 4 weeks. Theses leaves have a slightly curled edge (for the technically inclined this gives the leaves ‘lift’ in a salad mix by creating air spaces!). The lovely white stems can be eaten raw (great for dips) or cooked.

SOW & GROW: in spring and on through the summer to early autumn. You can start a few seeds in pots (sow at about 1-1.5cm deep) every two weeks or so for planting out as small clumps – this works very well for harvesting the whole plant. By leaving about 2.5cm of stem after cutting you little clump will resprout to give another crop. Alternatively, you can sow seeds in a row, aiming for about 10cm between plants: this is a good way to grow them if you want to keep picking the outer leaves and stalks but leave the main stem to grow on. Barese will be fine in light autumn frosts

EAT: perfect for salads (create lift while adding flavour) & don’t forget that the stems can be eaten raw or cooked.

More varieties of Swiss Chard by their alternative name - Leaf Beet