Swiss Chard 'Orange Fantasia' Seeds

Overview

Swiss Chard 'Orange Fantasia' has gorgeous dark green leaves with orange stalks & veins that brighten up your veg patch, your dinner plate & maybe your flower beds too!

A useful veg that can be harvested a little at a time and can survive in warmer winters with a little added protection.

It is a close relation to the beetroot family grown for its leaves. The colourful leaves & stems can be picked whilst young (in 32 days) as 'babyleaf' and used raw in salads or left to grow on and used in stir-fries or sautéed in butter (and it keeps it's colour when cooked!)

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Seed qty (approx)	50
Sowing months	March, April, May, June, July, August
Site conditions	Any, but does best if rich in organic matter.
How to sow	Either indoors in modules/small pots with 1-2 seeds per unit and remove the weaker seedlings. Transplant out when large enough in spring spacing 15-25cm apart. Or direct sow thinly once the soil has warmed up in April-July into drills 2.5cm deep by 30cm.
Care	They must be kept watered in summer to prevent bolting, but if some do start to bolt just cut down the middle stem and give them a good water. Keep picking leaves to encourage new ones, and during winter take off old ones before they begin to rot & affect other leaves. Chard is not hardy but is tough enough to survive most winters, just cut off any mushy leaves and it will begin to re-grow when the weather warms up.
Harvest	10 weeks after sowing, so March ones will be ready late May onwards & August sowings will be October onwards. It is a biennial so will last 2 seasons.
Information	N/A

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