Swiss chard

One April sowing of chard cuts from June to frost, which is the whole pitch: a spinach that refuses to bolt in July. Stems and leaves count as two different vegetables.

Growing

Sow in place in April or May, thin to eight inches, and keep cutting outer leaves; the plant rebuilds from the center all season and shrugs at August heat and October frost alike. Ordinary soil and regular water cover the rest; the stems announce a lapse by going limp in the afternoon, and one thorough soak stands them back up by morning. If a plant outruns the kitchen, cut it to a stub and it returns inside two weeks.

Varieties

Fordhook Giant is the heavy producer with white stems; Bright Lights turns the row into stained glass and cooks nearly as well.

Pests

Leafminers blister chard the way they do its beet relatives; snap off tunneled leaves and let regrowth outrun the fly, or net young plants through the May flight. Slugs work the lower stems in wet spells, so keep mulch a hand's width off the crowns.

In the kitchen

Leaves wilt like spinach; stems want two extra minutes in the pan or a quick pickle. Cooking them separately is the difference between liking chard and tolerating it.