Chard - Perpetual (Beta vulgaris var cicla.) Organic Non GMO Vegetable

Chard - Perpetual (Beta vulgaris var cicla.) Organic Non GMO Vegetable

Annual/Perennial in warmer areas

Height 2 to 3 in

Perpetual spinach, also known as Spinach Beet, Spinach Leaf Beet, Spinach Beet Chard and Umaina in Japan. Perpetual is an excellent summer crop variety, if you have difficulty growing traditional spinach, as it does not struggle with heat.  Perpetual Spinach, is a hardy, vigorous, and heat tolerant producer of smooth, shiny and dark green leaves with a white midrib - it is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, quick to mature, and provides abundant crops of large green leaves over a long season, as it will keep producing leaves all year.

Naturally healthy and tastes slightly bitter but milder than spinach, and makes the perfect cut and come again crop (providing your soil is fertile). For a continuous supply of spinach, make several sowings throughout the year. Perpetual will self-seed prolifically if allowed, but a single plant will last in the garden for several years. Plants will shoot back from the base after it has been cut back hard late in the summer. This variety has the advantage of not developing bitterness as it ages.

NOTE: For baby greens, sow 2 in apart in rows spaced 12in apart and harvested when 2in to 3in tall. For mature, full-size Leaf Chard, thin seedlings to 10in apart in rows spaced 16 to 20in apart. To harvest, cut off the outer leaves of these grand plants, which keep on producing, even through a light frost. The time from planting to harvest is 55 to 65 days. Start harvesting chard when the outside leaves are three inches long. Don't let the leaves get much longer than 10 inches, or they'll taste earthy. Either take a few leaves off at a time or cut the entire plant down to three inches and let it grow back

• Full sun
• Rich, sandy loamy soil
• Direct sow into the garden after all risk of frost has passed . Plant 2 cm deep; the seeds are actually clusters of seeds - as soon as the seedlings appear,  thin and leave one seedling per hole, in rows 30 to 45cm (12 to 18in ) apart. Thin to at least 5-8 cm (2 to 3 in) between plants, or further if you want larger leaves. If you use the closer spacing, thin when the leaves touch, when the plants are about 2in tall, using the tender leaves for salad greens.
• OR start seeds indoors; lightly pre-moisten the soil and fill the container. Sow seeds 2 cm deep; separate seedlings into own pots when germinate (clustered). For faster germination, place the container in a warm location and cover with plastic. Remove the plastic once per day to let excess moisture escape and prevent damping off. Keep the container lightly moist by misting. Transplant seedlings outdoors when all risk of frost has passed.
• Spacing: 10 in
• Optimal soil temperature: 5 to 20°C (45 to 70°F). 
• Germinates in 7 to 14 days.
• Selected for cold hardiness - harvest August to November
• Seed Count: 35