When I lived in San Diego, I had Swiss Chard plants several years old. As I harvested the leaves, the plants would form "trunks"; when they got a foot high or so, I chopped them off at the ground, and thinned until only the strongest shoot was left. This took persistence, since the stump continued to make large numbers of new shoots. I've only had a few sickly plants survive my Wisconsin winters. Mulch didn't help, not only for the reasons given by Denninmi, but because bugs & snails under the mulch had the chard as their only living food source. Since chard is biennial, that makes it difficult for me to save seed... but I might have found a trick. I made a late planting in 2008, and a few of those seeds overwintered & sprouted in 2009. Only one survived my Spring tilling, and it bolted in early Summer. It appears that winter sowing might force chard to bolt in the first year. Haven't tested that theory yet, but as much as I love chard, it would be great to save my own seed. Personally, I love the stuff. I recommend it as one of the best vegetables - and the best green - for small spaces, since you get a lot over the season from a small area. The wife uses chard as the green in a mung bean soup, and I like it in spinach lasagna... but mostly, we just eat it with butter & salt. I freeze large quantities for the Winter from 20-30 feet of row (if I can keep the birds out of it). This is a lot easier than spinach, since chard doesn't boil down to nothing, or get slimy. Because of the thick stalks, it needs a little more blanching time than most greens. I chop up some of the stems with the leaves, and blanch for 5 minutes. Any frozen green is vulnerable to freezer burn if exposed to air, which might be the reason Mrswaz says it is only good for soup? If frozen completely covered in water, the chard will retain much of its quality through the winter. Freezer bags are good for this, you can squeeze out any air bubbles before sealing. I usually freeze mine in plastic freezer containers (covered in water) to form a solid block. If I summon up the motivation to vacuum seal it after freezing, the chard will be good as a vegetable for at least a year.

Where in the world are you? Do you have a Cooperative Extension Service office relatively close? There are many kinds of fungi, some good, some bad, and some indifferent. Part of composting involves fungi and part of growing plants involves fungi. Some fungi form mycorrhizal (mutually beneficial) relationships with plants. Burning organic matter produces a lot of pollution and is not a good means of curing any problem. Soils contain all kinds of bacteria and fungi, some that may even be disease pathogens. A person could solarize the soil and that may help with some disease pathogens for a time but they will return over time. Better is to concentrate on making that soil a good healthy soil that will grow strong and healthy plants. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html Start with a good reliable soil test for soil pH and major nutrient levels. These simple soil tests may also be of some help in determining what that soil needs. 1) Soil test for organic material. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains’ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. 20 years of neglect means you will need a few, 3 to 5, years to get that soil into a good healthy condition, but it can be done. kimmq is kimmsr

Due to dual blood thinner therapy, I can no longer take Advil or extra aspirin or things like Celebrex for my RA, migraines or post stroke centralized pain and CBD is not orally recommended with warfarin and I have to be careful with transdermal treatments as well so I explored other chronic pain treatments and found that many studies show that eating more fiber acts as a prebiotic (which are more helpful long term than taking probiotics) that will lower the antibodies and inflammation that cause most diseases like lupus, diabetes, many cancers and RA. I also found many studies linking stress reduction therapies, ACT ( a form of cbt for chronic pain ) and daily moderate exercise to lower inflammation levels and thus pain reduction. I have since my stroke started a practice of eating 40 grams of fiber per day, walking a minimum of thirty minutes daily and meditating fifteen minutes every morning when I wake at 5:45 and again as I fall asleep at 9:45. I see a therapist weekly for Acceptance and commitment therapy and emdr( eye movement desensitization reprocessing) for PTSD and I no longer notice my pain at alll. Pain is preceived by our brains and we can dampen that part of our brain with training instead of with CBD, pot and opioids ( which work by altering the part of the brain that senses pain). In addition to pain management I also have become serum negative for RA, lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome. My CRP and sed rate have lowered significantly and I wake up awake and I no longer suffer from my severe anxiety disorder and depression. Fiber, exercise and meditation have changed my life and I only regret that it took two strokes for me to start on this path to a better life.

I didn't see the Oprah program about it, but did see a bit of promo interview. She said she also hikes five miles a day in the hills, and something I think meant followed a healthy diet. Everything I've ever seen about weight loss supplements or gizmos has at the core eat a healthy diet and get sufficient exercise--for which good advice one need not buy what they're selling. Five miles in hills daily is excessive, but so long as stress injuries aren't forming, sunscreen and hat are worn and the air is clean, it's a harmless to beneficial excess. I get why for people with imminent risks or whose work requires them to look their best, this medication is good. The potential side effects are pretty gruesome. The side effects of a colorful plant forward diet, with moderation in all types (too much greens or orange color can create problems, but those go away with vacations from the offenders), are a healthy gut and birthday cards from the vendors at the farmers' markets.