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Sengara Swiss Chard
Beta vulgaris
From Mary Menniti, of The Italian Garden Project:
Sengara is an Italian variety of Swiss Chard that also has characteristics of spinach. It does not form the wide stems of traditional Swiss chard, and the leaf is not as large. It was shared with The Italian Garden Project by Mariano Floro of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mariano obtained it from his hometown of Falerna, in Calabria, Italy where it is occasionally cultivated but now more often grows on the edges of farm fields, reseeding itself each season. It can be blanched, drained well, and then sauteed with olive oil and garlic. Often boiled potatoes or beans are added. See Mariano harvesting Sengara and teaching how to grow it as well as how to save its seeds.
How Mariano Cooks Sengara
Mariano’s Sengara
How Mariano Plants Sengara
How Mariano Harvests Sengara
Mariano Harvests Sengara
Days to maturity: 25 days for baby greens, 50 for full leaf
Seeds per pack: 200
Germination rate: 69% on 01/24/2025
Planting / harvesting notes
Sow chard seeds 1/2" to 3/4" deep, and thin to 12-16" apart.
Seed keeping notes
Beets and chard are the same species, so you'll want to isolate different varieties by 1/4-1/2 a mile to prevent unwanted hybridization. Harvest seed head when 2/3 of the seed clusters are brown. Dry further in a well-ventilated, dry place before pulling the seeds off the stem.
