Rainbow and silber beet

[CécileB]

Hello ! New here, but this website and forum are just what I've been looking for for ages!
My question is : I have a plot in South London, and try hard to grow winter vegetables. I have a row of silver beet and another of Rainbow chard. They look good, but harvesting some yesterday I found that some of the stems were yellow and fibrous or spongy. What happened ? Is is frost ? I thought they were quite frost-proof.

[CécileB]

[djbrenton]

I don't know about silver beet, but chard is susceptible to frost. It does come back strong in early Spring though.

[CécileB]

I think Swiss chards and silver beet are the same thing. The silver one are white with large stems, the Rainbow ones are all shades of pink and green with smaller stems. I was hoping to harvest them throughout winter.

[Eristic]

Use younger leaves. All old things get tough and wrinkley just like me, but in NW London I find the chard just keeps growing throughout the winter.

[CécileB]

Many thanks ! Fantastic. Also just read in Monty Don to remove damaged leaves throughout the winter.

[manicscousers]

hiya, cecileB, welcome to the site, sorry, haven't got the hang of accents yet  ;D

[CécileB]

Thank you very much manicscoucers, don't worry about accents. Most people don't bother.  I do like this site very much. I've had an allotment in London for 20 years, and I feel there is still so much I need to learn.

[manicscousers]

I think we're all still learning, now the weather is so different, we've been growing veggies for 35 years and are finding different problems now than when we began,  ;D

[artichoke]

I do find that chard, including the bright colours, flops after frost. I planned to give some to our church fair a few days ago, and when I knew there was going to be a frost, I ran up and picked them the evening before. The next  day, they were collapsing. The bog standard green stuff that seeds itself all over the place, remans perfect.

[CécileB]

OK Artichocke, I'll bear that in mind. Or perhaps give them a little winter protection ? Does that work ?
Self-seedling : I find that they all do if you allow them to flower. I do let a few plants run to seeds, or perhaps they just do it secretly, and I find  rainbow and silver seedlings all over the plot, and simply transplant them to a dedicated bed. Therefore a packet of seeds can last for a decade !

[tim]

Our Rainbow has been through 3 or 4 -5C frosts & is still productive.

Rot? You'll get that at any time - often due to physical or bug damage. Cut cleanly, & low down, & remove any grotty stuff immediately.

[Lauren S]

CecileB hello and welcome to A4A from me too  :)

[CécileB]

Hello Lauren, I only just joined and what a nice welcome !

Tim, I understand from the picture that you do protect your Rainbows ?

[tim]

Sorry - missed that - yes!!

[star]

Welcome CecileB.... :D