Rhubarb Supreme Swiss Chard is Johnny's Selected Seeds' answer to the gardener who wants bold color without the bolting headaches. This open-pollinated red chard reaches harvest in just 60 days, delivering vibrant crimson stems and deep green leaves that grow back for multiple picks throughout the season. It tolerates both cool springs and surprising heat, making it reliable across diverse climates, and its proven bolt resistance means you'll harvest leaves long after less stable varieties have gone to seed.
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The defining strength here is bolt resistance, which Johnny's explicitly bred for. Red chard typically struggles when spring temperatures dip into the low 50s, but Rhubarb Supreme handles that stress without bolting prematurely. Sixty days to first harvest is remarkably fast for a leaf crop that keeps producing, and the ability to pick individual mature leaves while seedlings regenerate below means one planting feeds you for months.
Swiss chard leaves are harvested and used as a leafy green vegetable, eaten raw in salads when young or cooked as a hearty green in sautés, soups, and braised dishes. The edible leaves regrow after cutting, supporting repeated harvests from a single planting throughout the growing season.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow seeds indoors in a cold frame or indoors in early spring, approximately 5 to 6 weeks before your last heavy frost date. Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep, placing 2 to 3 seeds per cell in 72- or 128-cell flats. Thin seedlings to 1 to 2 plants per cell before transplanting.
Transplant out after heavy frosts become infrequent, spacing plants 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
Begin harvesting when leaves reach mature size, or pick baby leaves when they reach 3 to 6 inches. Cut individual leaves with a knife about an inch above the soil, making sure to cut above the basal plate to allow clean regrowth. New leaves will emerge from the base, ready for harvest again in approximately 5 to 14 days depending on growing conditions. Bunching harvests work too: snap or cut mature outer leaves individually while leaving the center to keep producing.
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