Beta, Common Beet

My favourite green: Rare "Italian Swiss Chard" - like regular swiss chard but without the oxalic acid tang.

Great in salad...Read Mores as young leaves, delicious steamed or braised for older leaves. Freezes well.

Grows spectacularly. Slow to bolt in hot weather, even when started in March. This actually makes it hard to collect seeds.

Perennial in coastal climates, and even cooler climates with good snow cover. Very frost tolerant once hardened off.

Seed is hard to find. I live in an Italian community and the seeds are in the grocery store.