Swiss Chard & Radish Greens

Some of the very first bounty from my little parking lot garden were radish and swiss chard greens.

Radish sprouts just beginning to get their first true leaves

I'd never had swiss chard before I volunteered at Community Services Unlimited in 2008. Neelam introduced me to the greens and I fell in love with their earthy flavor and texture. Aaaaand they're wonderfully easy to grow. So you should go buy a packet of seeds, find some dirt, and plant them. Now.

Baby Swiss chard

These are the Ruby Red variety. I have some yellow, pink, and white ones starting as well. 

Both the radish and chard are so easy to grow and grow quite fast.
All but one of the six radish seeds I planted grew-- pretty good odds. On a recent visit home, I found out that my mother loves radishes. She complained to me that the ones she bought from the grocery store were always too watery. I told her that I was growing some and she asked me about how to go about it. The next time I visited, I brought her a couple of packets of seeds from my local nursery. In the face of all our differences, it feels good to have gardening to share with my parents.

Teenage radish clan

The chard seems to be a bit stemmy; I think they bolted from the intermittent heat waves we've gotten in Southern California through April and May. 

Young adult chard

Since radishes are always sold in bunches at the grocery store, I thought they grew in bunches too. I had no idea that each radish seed becomes just one radish root. I was surpised when I harvested one:

Pan's Labyradish

Kinda freaky-looking, and I thought it might be too old and thus too strong, but it was surprisingly mild. 

Harvested chard & radish greens

I sautéed the greens with some garlic and onion for a steak night. I couldn't tell the difference between the radish and chard. Both tasty. Easy access to leafy green veg = double plus good.