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'Perpetual Spinach' Swiss Chard
 
Sub-Category: None
 
Sub-Category 2:
Description: Exceptionally tender, smooth leaves on thin green stalks. Lasts through summer and withstands moderate frost. Will not bolt. Also known as 'Perpetual' and 'Leaf Beet'.
Days To Maturity: 50-60
Seed Sources:
 
Rating Summary
 
Overall: (4.0 Stars)Overall
Taste: (4.0 Stars)Taste
Yield: (4.8 Stars)Yield
Ease/Reliability: (4.6 Stars)Ease/Reliability
 
Reviews
 
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Number of Reviews: 5

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Reviewed on 02/23/2021 by Coorain - An intermediate gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Fulton, Georgia, United States
Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Great chard! I find the younger leaves tender enough to add to fresh salads. Cooked they are very tender, and while they still taste like chard, are pretty spinach like.\r\nIn hot climates, like Atlanta, it seems like it needs to get established in cool weather, but can handle the worst of the heat here! It won\'t thrive in that heat of course, but will survive to make a nice flush of growth once the temperatures start to fall. \r\nEstablished plants keep producing tasty chard leaves pretty much up until they bloom- more than any other chard I have grown in Georgia.
 

Reviewed on 05/16/2009 by Fran L - An experienced gardener

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Ease/Reliability Ease

Onondaga, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

mild, prolific, and always there for any recipe needing spinach or chard. If you are after salad greens, grow spinach, etc.
 

Reviewed on 01/22/2008 by ant - An experienced gardener

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Ease/Reliability Ease

Logan, Illinois, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

I grew this in 2007. It is January 2008 and I still have a few of these that are still green. I tried this for a new source of salad greens and it is a bit tough for that job. I'm not a fan of beets so I really don't like chard cooked. If you do like beet greens or chard I would highly recommend this for its generous production.
 

Reviewed on 09/26/2007 by MargoRed - An intermediate gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Onondaga, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

The name "perpetual spinach" is misleading - cooked it tastes a lot like spinach, but this is no substitute for raw spinach. Do not grow this expecting to throw it (even in a tender less mature state) into your salad. You will be disappointed. Honestly, most chard tastes the same. That means the real difference between chard varieties lies in its appearance. If you like big green leaves, choose perpetual spinach. If you like pretty colors, bright lights is as good a choice as any.
 

Reviewed on 09/14/2004 by George Morrison - An experienced gardener

Overall Overall
Taste Taste
Yield Yield
Ease/Reliability Ease

Westchester, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: Less than 6 hours per day

At last a spinach substitute that might even taste better than spinach itself. This swiss chard variety yields nice large light green leaves but very narrow stalks. The flavor lacks the mustiness typical of beet leaves and other swiss chards. To get a jump on the season, I start it indoors from seeds in March and transplant outdoors as soon as the ground can be worked and the weather settles. This is a cut and come again vegetable. Might need some floating row cover protection from the larvae of the leaf miner fly. Slugs can also be a problem. Otherwise it is easy to grow right through fall's light frosts.
 
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