Has my chard bolted?

[ElleDubloo]

Sorry, complete beginner here. Is this the appearance of bolting? Can I still eat it or shall I pull/cut it out? Thanks!

And does anyone know about mizuna? Is this still edible? Thanks.

Chard is still OK when bolted - might just be a bit stringy. Sow some more it'll be up and ready soon enough. It likes a water and a feed.

Mizuna probably the same.

I would cut it back, give it a feed and a good water, and it should come back again. I do it with my parsley, chives and sorrel every year - seems to work.

Pick through what you've cut back and use in the kitchen.

Thanks. I know that you can't eat spinach when it's bolted. But on beechgrove they were talking about another leafy vegetable (forgot the name) which tastes better when it develops flowers. I'll cut down all the bolted ones and eat what looks good, then sow another batch.

It may come back when cut down. But I think you might be better off not cutting it all back - partly it looks fantastic when it has properly bolted - really beautiful especially the red chard. And the leaves are smaller but still OK - honest!

deborahmadison.com/eating-whole-food-when-chard-bolts/

I let mine bolt over last winter, some of them got to over 6' tall before getting blown over a couple of weeks ago. I've still got a red stemmed one in at about 3' tall, it looks stunning. Haven't eaten any for a while though.

A not very good photo

Be cautious with the bolted mizuna as it can get very fiery indeed!

You can eat chard leaves after bolting as others have said. They just tend to be a bit smaller so you have to pick more to get a good portion. I let a whole row of different coloured chard bolt and set seed one year (moderately difficult pregnancy) and I got different coloured chard growing all over the vegetable patch for the next few years. It was great!