Rainbow chard in ground since last year, is it still edible?

[worldsworststepfordwife]

Just that really

Of course! It's edible as long as you can keep it going. What it will do this year is use all the reserves it has built up in its roots to push up a thick flower stem, and it will lose its leaves and use their energy too, before finally dying off. While you still have leaves, you can continue to pull them to eat. You can try and delay the inevitable by snapping off the flower stem as soon as you see it developing, but you will lose the battle. But you can pull of the small stem leaves and flower buds and add them to salads. The flower stem itself is too tough to eat.

I made soup with the chard and lentils and Indian spices I’m v proud I haven’t wasted it! Now I’ve sown lettuce and spinach in the space I’ve freed up

Your soup sounds delicious @worldsworststepfordwife! We seem to have perpetual rainbow chard: I just harvest leaves and let it get on with it the rest of the time. I've got about 14 plants and they've all been going for about 10 months each with no sign of slowing. I've had a couple flower but most just plod along feeding us as they go!

Just a reminder for those who've not grown chard before - you don't cu off the whole head like a cabbage, you pull off enough leaves for a meal and leave the rest of the plant to grow and produce new leaves.

The stems require slightly longer cooking than the leaf. I usually cut the stems from the leaves and chop them into inch long bits, put them at the bottom and the leaves on top, so the stems get a bit more cooking. Very young leaves (eg the growing point of the flower stem) can be used raw in salad.