Trialling 4 chards as spinach substitute

[jmsieglaff]

Did a tasting of the indoor trial of swiss chard varieties.

Barese chard has the tightest growth habit, darker green leaves. Slightly thicker leaves, good flavor, juicy.
Verde de Talgo a bit looser growth habit, thinner leaves, milder flavor.
Bionda Di Lyon has a fairly loose habit, lightest green, thin leaves with a very mild flavor,least vigorous looking plants of the 4.
Perpetual spinach had second tightest growth habit, middle leaf thickness, more assertive flavor than VdT and BdL—similar to Barese.

None of the varieties distinguished themselves or eliminated themselves. Will trial all in equal amounts outdoors this year.

[kath]

Thanks for updating about tasting; I'm also growing lots of greens this spring to compare tastes for making my own salad mix. Tired of buying expensive plastic tubs of organic greens that are already starting to decompose when I get them home.
So far I've had a lot of trouble with fungus gnats, aphids, and unhappy looking greens. Trying to figure out what kind of medium to use and what to feed them.

kath