Swiss Chard
Oriole Swiss Chard brings a burst of color to any vegetable garden with its striking golden-orange stems that stand out against deep green foliage. Ready to harvest in just 60 days, this open-pollinated variety thrives in cool to mild weather and can be picked leaf by leaf for weeks of continuous harvests. The bush growth habit makes it compact and manageable, while its tolerance for light frosts means you can extend your growing season well into fall or even overwinter in milder regions.
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Moderate
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Biennial
Moderate
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What sets Oriole apart is that unmistakable golden-orange stem color, it's as much a visual asset in the garden as it is productive. Unlike some Swiss chard varieties that need a long season, Oriole delivers mature leaves in 60 days, making it practical for gardeners working with shorter growing windows. The variety handles both cool springs and mild summers with grace, and its capacity for repeated harvests from a single planting means you'll be picking fresh leaves long after the initial planting date.
Swiss chard is a kitchen workhorse, and Oriole's tender leaves are excellent raw in salads when harvested young, or cooked down in soups, sautés, and grain bowls as a hearty green. The stems, particularly striking in this variety with their golden-orange hue, are tender enough to eat and add both flavor and visual appeal to stir-fries and braised vegetable dishes.
Start seeds indoors in a cold frame or indoors about 5–6 weeks before your last heavy frost date. Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep, placing 2–3 seeds per cell in 72- or 128-cell flats. Thin seedlings to 1–2 plants per cell once they've emerged and developed their first true leaves.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after heavy frosts become infrequent, spacing plants 4–6 inches apart in rows 12–18 inches apart. Seedlings tolerate light frosts, so you can plant slightly earlier than you might with heat-loving crops.
Harvest Oriole Swiss Chard in two ways depending on your preference. For bunching, cut or snap individual mature leaves as needed, and new leaves will continue to grow from the center, providing multiple harvests from a single plant. For baby leaf harvest, use a knife to cut leaves when they reach 3, 6 inches, cutting about an inch above the soil surface to ensure clean regrowth above the basal plate. Return to harvest again when leaves reach your desired size, typically within 5, 14 days depending on growing conditions.
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