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'Lucullus' Swiss Chard
 
Sub-Category: None
 
Sub-Category 2:
Description: Heirloom. Light-green, deeply savoyed leaves on thick, white round stalks. Harvest baby greens at 25 days.
Days To Maturity: 50-52
Seed Sources: Gurneys Seed & Nursery Co. - updated in 2019
Henry Field's Seed and Nursery Co. - updated in 2013

 
Rating Summary
 
Overall: (3.8 Stars)Overall
Taste: (4.2 Stars)Taste
Yield: (3.8 Stars)Yield
Ease/Reliability: (4.0 Stars)Ease/Reliability
 
Reviews
 
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Number of Reviews: 5

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KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease

Reviewed on 08/01/2023 by bst - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Strafford, New Hampshire, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

Not the best in my book. It needs to be thinned quite heavily to get decent size leaves. It cooks up rather tough compared to Fordhook. Taste is OK, but not great. Leaves are not as big nor as crinkled as Fordhook. However, I\\\'ve had zero problems with leaf miners attacking it. Whether that\\\'s because of the variety or because of the extremely wet weather we\\\' ve had this year, i don\\\'t know. But I am going back to old, reliable Fordhook Giant..
 

Reviewed on 07/30/2013 by Ferdzy - An intermediate gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Ontario, Canada
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Widely regarded as the best tasting chard, and there will be no argument from me. Chard in general is an easy, tolerant crop and Lucullus is as easy as any. It's also more disease resistant than some types. Main pest is birds, although so far my Lucullus has not been as badly pecked as some types I've grown. Do not attempt to put more than one plant in a square foot, and if you plant from seed you will still need to thin them, as chard is a beet and has compound seeds (seed capsules, really). Plants can get quite massive.
 

Reviewed on 03/22/2007 by MikeM - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Ontario, Canada
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

This review is skewed because in the two years I tried Lucullus, it didn't get properly thinned: it doesn't compete well with itself, producing flimsy leaves when a bit crowded (unlike, for example, Fordhook Giant, which produces no matter what). Great pale green color, nice taste. Probably well-worth it if you want a range of chard.
 

Reviewed on 12/12/2006 by starwoodfarm - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Baker, Oregon, United States
Frost Free Season: Fewer than 103 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

It was so beautiful, which tends to scew my love of my crops. But it just kept coming, and was very saleable/pretty to take to market.
 

Reviewed on 01/23/2006 by KentB - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Minnesota, United States
Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

Good taste and moderately productive.
 




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