Fordhook Giant Swiss is a powerhouse Swiss chard cultivar that grows to over two feet tall, producing broad, dark green leaves with striking bright white stems up to 2½ inches thick. This open-pollinated variety matures in 50-60 days and thrives in zones 3-10, making it one of the most prolific producers available to home gardeners. The heavily crumpled leaves can reach 24-28 inches in length, delivering exceptional quality for both eating and high-volume harvesting. Its nutritional profile rivals spinach itself, packed with anthocyanins, fiber, and antioxidants that show in those vivid leaf colors.
Full Sun
High
3-10
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Moderate
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Fordhook Giant produces leaves so large and abundant that a single plant often supplies an entire household and then some. The combination of massively thick white stems and deeply crumpled dark green foliage creates a striking visual presence in the garden, while the exceptional texture and flavor make this variety a favorite among serious chard growers. You'll harvest continuously by picking outer leaves, allowing the growing point to keep generating fresh harvests season after season.
Fordhook Giant excels as a raw or cooked green. The thick, tender white stems are prized for their mild, slightly sweet texture and can be prepared separately from the leafy portions, making them especially valuable in stir-fries, braised dishes, or as a standalone vegetable. The large, crumpled leaves work beautifully in salads when young or sautéed as a hearty cooked green when mature. Its exceptional quality when cooked makes it a favorite for gardeners planning to preserve or process large harvests.
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Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost date. Sow seeds ½ inch deep in cells, placing 2-3 seeds per cell in 72- or 128-cell flats. Thin to 1-2 plants per cell after germination. This gives you sturdy transplants ready to go into the garden after heavy frosts pass.
Transplant seedlings outdoors 4 to 6 weeks after starting seeds, or 2 to 4 weeks after your average last frost date when soil temperatures have warmed. Space plants 18 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. Protect young transplants from heavy freezes if needed.
Direct sow seeds outdoors 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date, when soil temperature reaches at least 40°F (ideally 75-90°F). In mild climates, sow in fall as late as 2 months before the first fall frost. Sow seeds ½ inch deep.
Begin harvesting leaves when plants are established, cutting or snapping mature leaves individually from the outside of the plant. This continuous harvest method keeps the growing point intact, allowing new leaves to emerge for weeks or months of repeated picking. You can harvest individual baby leaves at 3-6 inches for tender young greens, cutting about an inch above the soil to encourage regrowth. For maximum-size leaves, wait until they reach their full 24-28 inch potential before harvesting.
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