Description

Add a splash of color to your garden and meals with 'Ruby Red' Swiss chard. This 1850s heirloom variety offers dark green, crinkled leaves with striking red veins and stems, making it both beautiful and nutritious. A vigorous grower with a long growing season, it provides a bountiful harvest from early summer into fall and can even thrive year-round in milder climates. The young leaves are perfect for fresh salads, while the larger leaves can be steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups, stews, and more. This cold-tolerant variety is also a great option for container gardening.

Botanical Name: Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
Days to Maturity: 50–60 days
Family: Amaranthaceae
Native: Mediterranean region, Europe
Hardiness: Biennial; fairly cold tolerant. Will overwinter in mild climates and withstand light to moderate freezes.
Plant Dimensions: 24″ tall, 18″ wide
Variety Information: Dark green crinkled leaves with red veins and stalks and sometimes with reddish coloring in the leaves.

When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is at least 40°F, ideally 75°–90°F. Sow as late as 2 months before first fall frost. Mild Climates: Sow in fall.
When to Start Inside: 4 to 6 weeks before transplanting out, 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date (protect from heavy freezes).
Days to Emerge: 5–10 days
Seed Depth: ½”
Seed Spacing: A group of 2 seeds every 8″
Row Spacing: 18″
Thinning: When ½” tall, thin to 1 every 8″

Harvesting: Pick up to 1/3 of the outer leaves as needed, and let more leaves grow from the center of the plant; or, if desired, harvest the whole plant 2″ above ground, and it will grow back. Pick very young leaves, at 2″-4″ for using fresh in salads.

This packet sows up to 48 feet. 140 seeds.