Best Varieties of Swiss Chard to Grow in the North

Image: giffconstable/"Bright Lights"

Swiss chard is edible from stalk to stem and can be added to soups, stews and salads or steamed as a mildly-sweet side dish. As vegetables go, Swiss chard is pretty easy to grow and it’s 60 days or less to maturity fits well with the north’s short growing season.

Bright Lights Chard: Variety produces pink, red, yellow and orange stalks topped with green leaves. Easy to grow. Tolerates heat well. 55 days.

Rhubarb Swiss Chard: Produces dark red stalks topped with dark green leaves. Easy to grow. Variety provides a continual harvest. 55 days.

Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard: Produces thick, ivory stalks up to 2.5” topped with broad, dark green leaves. Tolerates light frost. High yielding variety. 55-60 days.

psd/"Fordhook Giant"

Ruby Red Swiss Chard: Produces ruby red stalks topped with shiny, dark green leaves. Consistent yielding variety. 55-60 days.

Magenta Sunset: Produces narrow, pink stems topped with smooth leaves. Mild in flavor. 28 days for baby, 55 days for bunching.

Bright Yellow: Produces bright yellow stems topped shiny, deep green leaves. 30 for baby, 57 days for bunching.

Living in Monrovia/"Bright Yellow"

Lucullus Swiss Chard: Variety produces ivory stalks topped green leaves. Mildly sweet in taste. Bolt resistant. 60 days.

El Dorado: Produces golden stalks topped dark green leaves. Slow to bolt and frost resistant. Vigorous variety great for baby greens. 60 days.

Peppermint: Produces pink stems with white stripes topped with dark green leaves. 33 days for baby, 60 days for bunching.