Indoor Swiss Chard

Today I picked a good size batch of Swiss Chard that has been growing in an ebb and flow system under the T5 fluorescent lights. There is enough chard for at least two meals, and the quality is absolutely incredible.

The chard was prepared immediately after picking, as chard is extremely perishable, and it begins losing some of its nutrient value shortly after being picked.

In addition to the chard; in the past week I have picked about ten large lettuce plants. The value of the plants that I have been able to grow offsets the additional cost that the lighting adds to our utility bill.

In a previous post I wrote that I would not be growing chard indoors again, however, because we enjoy it so much, I am going to waffle and grow another batch.

I have planted a variety from Japan called fudanso umaina, and I doubt that few people this side of the international dateline have ever heard of it, much less eaten it. That is another benefit of hydroponic growing, in that you can obtain seed to sample new vegetables much easier that you can obtain the vegetables.