Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard

My friend, Ray Moore, talked about Swiss Chard all summer. I had not grown any for years; but we really liked it. I picked enough to make a mess when mixed with mustard, turnip greens, and the few surviving kale leaves. It was delicious. It tastes like a very mild version of spinach.

The figs are ripening fast; and they are extremely sweet. If you want to look back and see how much I chopped them back last year, you will be amazed at how the trees have grown. I will publish pictures before I cut them this year. They are huge.

Fall is fun. I am dismantling all the weird structures that were built in the spring and planning to learn from my mistakes. The watermelon fence was a great success. It needs a finer mesh wire to keep the watermelons from hanging through. I am satisfied with the tomato fence; but I am not satisfied with the tomatoes. This was the worst year we have had. The fence will be constructed going North South next year as opposed to East West. The Porterhouse Beefsteak from Burpee will be eliminated. It makes a big early tomato. The tomato just doesn’t have much flavor. Next year will be Marglobe, Better Boy, and an unidentified variety that volunteered in my garden and produced a wonderful tomato.

The cucumber fence needs more supports, as does the cage for kole crops and eggplants and bell peppers. They were built with plastic fencing and it sags too much on 8’ centers. Next year they will be on 4’ centers.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.