A while ago when I wrote on Silver beet and Chard a reader commented that her plants last for a couple of years. I took this as a challenge and was determined to get a plant to be productive for at least 18 months. Previously I found the plants always bolted in Spring and never recovered sufficiently to be productive after that. Now this “perpetual spinach” (a variety of Silver Beet/Chard) plant is only 7 months old – a baby really and already it looks like its starting to bolt.
I will cut out the centre stalk and see what happens but frankly I’m not impressed….a little bit of warmth last week, it thinks Spring has come early and starts to think about procreation. Oh dear!
It will be interesting to see what others think. I grow chard from spring to fall and mine has lasted through some pretty hot weather without bolting yet. I just cleaned it all up the other day and cut it back to a few new leaves to let it start growing again good for the fall. I don’t really know how your temperatures are in your area either. I have never seen a chard plant bolt, so I don’t know what it would look like.
Thats really interesting that yours doesn’t bolt. Mine seems to bolt in early Spring (or late winter in this case). I think it is either responding to our recent brief spell of comparatively warmer weather or perhaps it related to changing day length. Either way both the plants I have currently are doing it – time to sow more seed……. Perhaps you avoid it bolting by not growing it through winter and thus it doesn’t experience the same temperature change????
I often grow Perpetual Spinach, and sometimes Swiss Chard too, and it normally remains productive for about a year, but I do find that it bolts very easily, especially in my dry sandy soil.
Thats interesting that you think it might be a soil thing. I will have to give that idea some thought.
Hi Liz, I do agree that spring might come early this year than expected. At the moment, I am struggling to harvest ASAP many of our veggies before it bolts. Even our carrots show the sign of producing flowers.We had several days of above 20 degrees celsius this month. Thank you for looking carefully at the ingredients of the recipe which I posted recently. I certainly left out the flour!
Hi Diana,
No worries at all – wow your carrots are about to flower – that does sound early – when were they planted? Liz
That carrots were planted in March this year. More than 4 feet now.