23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I started adding chard to Asian-style stirfries last year when I had a bumper crop of chard but not enough peppers or green beans - which were previously my standard for stirfry - and it quickly became my favorite way to eat it. I also saute with onion/garlic/olive oil and layer the resulting delicious mess in a baked pasta with red sauce and goat cheese.

I just had to pull half of mine out because of a fungal disease but the remainder is recovering quickly and already growing to fill in the empty spots now that our endless rain has let up. I think this stuff is indestructible.

It's also divine in soup. I have a Rachel Ray recipe for chicken minestrone that is so awesome that's why I grow chard!! But I've never tried it sauteed, that sounds really good too. How long do you cook it that way?

Edie

This time of year I start leek seeds outdoors and grow them in crowded pots until I have the space to plant them, usually after early potatoes. I will start more seeds in a month or so for using as overwintering leeks. Just harvested the last of my 2012 leeks last week, leaving the plants that are actively multiplying by division. When replanted, the little plantlets that cluster around the mother leek grow into strong plants quickly.

Planatus, you just answered the question I was going to ask here... Before I even asked it! *cue slightly spooky music* You can be The Plant Psychic! Seriously, I was wondering if this would be the time to start them for fall and winter, so thanks, cheers!

Thanks guys. I guess I will be patient and wait it out and see what happens. It was the what seems to be slow/stop in growth and light/green yellowish turning of the plants that concerned me. I'll basically let the soil dry out well from the rains and then add some more plant food on next watering. Hope nitrogen will bring back some of the color it had. Hopefully the peppers and cucumbers regain some of their color and continue to grow. The grape tomatoes only one who seems to still be growing at great pace.

Thanks guys. I guess I will be patient and wait it out and see what happens. It was the what seems to be slow/stop in growth and light/green yellowish turning of the plants that concerned me. I'll basically let the soil dry out well from the rains and then add some more plant food on next watering. Hope nitrogen will bring back some of the color it had. Hopefully the peppers and cucumbers regain some of their color and continue to grow. The grape tomatoes only one who seems to still be growing at great pace.

zeedman....do you blanch the chard and then freeze?

Yes, I blanch the chard before freezing. I roll up the leaf, and cut it crossways into thin strips (1/2" - 3/4"), then either chop up some of the stem or slice it thinly, and add it to the leaves. The amount of stem to add is up to your taste. Personally, I like the amount of body that the stem adds to the cooked greens... especially if I use the chard in soup.

The best way to freeze chard (or any other vegetable in quantity) is to use a stainless steel kettle with a large strainer basket. It makes quick transfer simpler, and avoids over cooking. If you have two identical kettles (which I highly recommend) one basket can be cooking while the other is cooling. I just use cold running water (into another kettle shorter & wider than the basket) to cool the veggies after blanching, for a period equal to the blanching time. Then pour them out into a strainer, drain, and pack into containers.

I've seen recommendations for blanching greens for only a minute or two, but in my experience, 3 minutes is the minimum. I base this upon a pound of chard at a time... and while this is a fairly large amount of chard, it will shrink down quickly once stirred into the boiling water (though not as much as spinach). After the initial weighing, I use a bowl filled to the same volume for subsequent batches.

If you mix slices of stalk with the leaves, or if the leaves are larger & heavily veined, it may be necessary to use a longer blanching time, perhaps 4-5 minutes.

Blanching is not a precise science, since it varies with the volume of the kettle, the heat setting, altitude, and the weight of the vegetables being blanched. The first time I blanch something, I use the recommendations of the Ball canning book as a starting point, then look for signs & make adjustments. Insufficiently blanched veggies may float after cooling, while fully blanched veggies generally sink. Blanching also causes color change, and if the color change is incomplete, then a longer time may be required.

The best way to freeze chard (or any other green) is to pack the blanched chard tightly into a freezer box, freeze until solid, then vacuum seal the frozen "brick" (this avoids the bad seal you can get from vacuum sealing wet veggies). Protected this way, the chard will not get freezer burn. Alternatively, freeze the chard packed in just enough water to cover it. The ice will give some protection from freezer burn, although not for as long as vacuum sealing.

This post was edited by zeedman on Fri, Jun 14, 13 at 20:53

Thanks all. I was considering delaying pumpkins this year in the hopes of missing the borers. Our pumpkins are usually ready way too early anyway. Kinda running out of time.

I use the phenology sign of the wild chicory blooming for the 5-6 week flight time of this moth. You can be more scientific by using growing degree days, according to the University of KY.

"Adult emergence occurs at approximately 1000 degree days (base 50F with a Jan 1 biofix) in the early summer. Use 950 degree days as the time to begin monitoring plants weekly for initial signs of the borer's frass at entrance holes in the stems. This usually corresponds to mid June as the start of the adult flight."

WIKI has a short chart that connects growing degree days with tree and shrub bloom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growing-degree_day). Where I am, I think we are at about 500 growing degree days right now. There are apps for keeping up with GDDs, smart farmers use them all the time.

Here is a link that might be useful: UKY squash pests

One little thing you could do would be to cover that black side of the planter with white or beige. It will reflect light rather than warmth. The peas will bloom and bear for three weeks or more, and their color right now looks great. Can you get to the back side for harvesting?

Good idea thanks! Yes I I could to the back side. Not easily but I'm small enough. That cart has wheels wont won't be and me to move it with peas growing into chicken wire

Thanks for your reply. Let's assume that after a few days none recover....
would it be advisable to re-dig & re-sow in the same rows? Is carrot fly maggot infestation caused by the recent crop failure an issue?
I prefer to replant & have full rows of carrots rather than leave one surviving carrot every 10 inches.

I'd leave them alone, I'll bet they're fine.

Thank you Dave. The leaves are kind of sparse right now because of the looper attack so I know we don't have a hidden giant. I guess it may have run its course although its only been producing fruit for about a month. Is that normal?
If we scrap it, when is it a good time to plant another one?
Thank you so much!

Well without seeing a picture I'm not convinced that what you had was cabbage loopers rather than some of the more common cuke pests. Possible but on cukes that would be very very unusual. Far more common is pickle worms.

But be that as it may, the lack of leaves would explain why the plant has shut down. Not enough leaves for photosynthesis. No photosyn = no energy for production..

As to when to replant in your zone I can't help with that as planting times in your zone would be very different from mine. The zone 9 planting guide I pulled up says end of Feb. to end of April only for planting cukes.

Even in my zone cukes won't survive during the summer heat. Once the air temps reach the 90's the pollen becomes non-viable. They are primarily a spring vegetable.

Dave

I would not try to move them now. They should be fine as long as you keep them watered well and they have plenty of fertilizer.

Thanks everyone

Agree it is a chafer. While they can damage lawns in the grub stage if the infestation is severe they are garden neutrals for the most part. Not something to worry about.

Lots of bugs in a garden and 95% of them are beneficials or neutrals.

Dave

Second Dave's Chafer...some are naughty like the Rose Chafer (yellow scales) but most adults don't feed like the Northern Masked Chafer which would be in Zone 8a or there about...

Isn't it odd that there are creatures that don't feed as adults - assuming their primary purpose is just to procreate.