Carla Andreacci, age 9, of Jamestown, N.Y., for her question:

IS SWISS CHARD GOOD FOR YOU?

Swiss chard is a vegetable. Its leaves are eaten as greens. Nutritionists say that Swiss chard is good for you since it is an excellent source of vitamin A and contains a fair amount of vitamins of the B complex and C. Like most leafy vegetables, Swiss chard is also rich in minerals.

People grew Swiss chard as long ago as 350 B.C. It is a favorite crop in Switzerland and was introduced in the United States in 1806. Massachusetts is one of the leading states in growing the vegetable.

The Swiss chard plant is one of the few garden greens that grow constantly throughout the summer. The seeds are sown in the spring. The large outer leaves are harvested as soon as they develop. Later, the inner leaves are taken and the harvest continues until frost kills the plant.

Swiss chard resembles the beet, except that it does not have a large fleshy root.

The vegetable has fleshy leaf stems, large leaves and a dark green color. Some varieties of Swiss chard have pale yellow leaves and others have bright red leaves and leaf stems.