Swiss chard is an easy leafy green to grow for a colorful addition to salad , sandwiches , and side .
Bob Stefko
Swiss chard is a leafy green that is easy to grow , make water it an splendid choice forbeginning gardeners . It ’s also middling enough to add to a flower bed ormixed patio container . Unlike most leafy greens that arise only in spring and fall while temperature stay cool , Swiss chard holds up to fond weather without going to seed , so you could harvest this cut - and - add up - again harvest from spring through fall .
Credit:Bob Stefko
Where to Plant Swiss Chard
Grow Swiss chard in a sunny location with fecund , slightly sulfurous - to - neutral , well - drained soil . Sow a words in your kitchen garden for a steady supplying of this impudent leafy greenish from outflow to fall . It outlasts most other leafy greens because it doesn’tbolt when summer temperatures rise .
Its attractive deep light-green leaves , often feature colourful mid - rib , make it a dear choice for a mixed border . It creates a lush enhancer for unfolding annuals or perennial . you’re able to reap the outer leafage for feeding , and the plant will extend to front fresh in the garden all time of year .
Swiss chard is an attractive addition to container plantings for a cheery terrace , deck of cards , or balcony . meld it with colorful anthesis annuals such asdwarf zinniasormarigoldsfor a time of year - retentive video display . Its boldly textured leaves create a pleasing line to annuals with humble or touchy peak . Plant it withcoleusanddusty millerfor a container burst with lush , colorful leaf .
Credit: Karla Conrad
How and When to Plant Swiss Chard
Swiss chard flourish in coolheaded temperatures and can be sow directly in the garden from two to three weeks before thelast expected spring frostthrough mid - summer . Start the seed indoors under lights for an former harvest . Be certain to indurate off the seedlings before you plant them in the garden .
Swiss chard grow equally well in the ground orraised beds . Before planting , employment somecompostand slow - release fertilizer into the top 6 column inch of ground . For fertiliser measure , follow the directions on the product label . Sow the seeds 2 to 4 inches apart , thin them 6 to 8 inches apart when they have three to four leaves . Do n’t throw away the thinning — they’re great in salads .
In summer , Swiss chard ’s flavor becomes stronger and ontogeny slow down a bit with the high temperature , but it picks up again and the tone sweetens as the weather condition change by reversal cooler in fall .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Swiss Chard Care Tips
Swiss chard is aneasy - to - produce vegetablethat is fun for Kyd and begin gardeners because it ’s so reliable . It has few pest or disease problems and tolerate a wide chain of mountains of temperatures and filth types , so just about anyone can spring up it .
Light
Full sunfor six time of day or more is best for Swiss chard . It will tolerate shadiness for part of the day , but the more sunshine it gets , the effective it will grow .
Soil and Water
While liberal of a range of grime type , Swiss chard develop best in well - drain filth rich in organic affair and with apH of 6.0 to 7.0 . To add together nutrient and meliorate drain , incorporate compost or other organic thing into the soil before implant .
An in of weewee per week is a good rule of thumb for most vegetable , including Swiss chard . Adrip or soaker hoseis a slap-up way to add supplemental H2O when rain is inadequate . get to water the plants at soil level rather than wet the leaves , which encourage diseases . Mulching around the Qaeda of plantshelps keep back soil wet .
Temperature and Humidity
Swiss chard is considered acool - season harvest . Seed sprouting is dependable between 55 ° F and 75 ° F . Most outgrowth occurs in outflow and spill , slowing during the warmth of summer . Unlike prickly-seeded spinach , it rarely bolts in hot conditions , so it can be harvested through the summer months . Outdoors , Swiss chard is n’t particular about humidity as long as its soil is keep moist .
Fertilizer
If you added compost and a slow - release fertilizer before planting , you may not want to supply more during the season . If you sense the plant could expend a boost , water them with a liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion .
Potting and Repotting Swiss Chard
Swiss chard thrives in container and is attractive when combined withcolorful annuals . It need at least a 12 - inch full and inscrutable container . A 10 - congius raft has room to grow two plants . All containers need holes to provide unspoilt drainage . Fill the container with commercial potting soil devise for veg and summate compost or organic thing . set the Swiss chard seeds about an inch late and space 8 - 10 column inch apart . Keep the grease moist , not soused , and the seeded player will germinate in 10–14 days . Position the container in an area that receives full sunshine at least six hour daily . This biennial does n’t require repotting .
Harvesting and Storage
start harvesting Swiss chard when the leaves are about 6 in long . harvest home in the morning when the leaves are full of wet by regularly cutting the kayoed leaves with a sharp tongue , cutting an column inch above the ground . Leave the center to continue to produce new leave .
Swiss chard is best when used the same day you harvest it . However , leaves last in the icebox for about a workweek if stored in an uncertain plastic handbag .
Pests and Problems
Swiss chard is a resilient craw that rarely suffers significant harm from pests or disease . There are a few insect pests that , from time to clock time , may invade Swiss chard , includingaphids , flea beetle , and leafage mineworker . Afloating words coverIs utilitarian for forestall these pests if they ’re a trouble in your garden . A backbreaking flow of water can knock off most aphids . If you see leaf miner impairment — sick tunnels through the foliage tissue — remove the infested leaves and dispose of them to prevent the insect ’s scatter .
Slugs and snailsare occasionally a problem , specially on vernal plants . These critters take big bites out of foliage . Pick and demolish them if you spot them or trap them in shallow genus Pan of beer .
Plants that maturate in less than full sun may beaffected by powdery mold , which causes a white-hot powdery cake on parting , or downy mildew , which make maverick yellow spots . Remove infect plants and render adequate spacing to increase air circulation . forfend overhead watering .
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
How to Propagate Swiss Chard
plume the source overnight before imbed to aid germination . In the garden , sow germ about ½ to 1 inch inscrutable and 2 to 4 inch aside , reduce them to 6–8 inches asunder when they can be easily handled .
If starting your plantsindoors under brightness , use a high - qualityseed - starting mixand sow two seed per mobile phone or pot four or five weeks before your last expected Robert Lee Frost . flimsy to the strongest seedling when they are 1 to 2 inch tall . Transplant to the garden — or a container — about the time of your last leap frost . Be sure theseedlings are well - hardenedbefore planting them outdoors .
Types of Swiss Chard
Several Swiss chard miscellanea have colorful mid - ribs and petiole ( leaf stems ) , run from pale green or white to bright yellow , orangish , pink , and deep red . Leaves variegate from slightly puckered to deep rumple .
‘Rhubard Chard’
Beta vulgarisvar . ‘ Rhubard Chard ’ is an heirloom diverseness that produces crinkled , dark green leaves with mystifying red mid - rib and stem that are ornamental and combine well with efflorescence annual in a container . industrial plant produce to 2 feet tall and are ready to glean about 60 days from seeding .
‘Fordhook Giant’
Another heirloom , Beta vulgarisvar . ‘ Fordhook Giant ’ has morose green puckered leaves with tolerant bloodless mid - rib . It grows 24 to 28 inches and matures in 50 days .
‘Heart of Gold’
Beta vulgarisvar . ‘ Heart of Gold ’ is a newer open - pollinated salmagundi that is a vigorous agriculturalist with deep puckered fleeceable folio and wide golden - orange tree mid - ribs and leafstalk . Baby leaves can be reap after 30 Clarence Day ; full - sized leaves are ready in 60 years .
‘Bright Lights’
Beta vulgarisvar . ‘ Bright Lights ’ is an All - America Selections winner with green or bronze leaves and stems that come in a rainbow of colouring material including pink , orangish , scarlet , atomic number 79 , and white . It‘s beautiful both in the garden ( or container ) and on the denture . It matures in 55 days from seeding .
Swiss Chard Companion Plants
The magnanimous , coarse - textured leaves of Swiss chard combine well with more exquisitely textured yearly in cosmetic bed or containers . Flowers that echo the colourful stems make for a sensational presentation .
‘Profusion’ Zinnia
' Profusion ' zinnias grow 18 column inch tall and 12 inches wide . Thiszinniahas prolific orange tree , pink , white , or sensationalistic prime that are particularly attractive when twin with Swiss chard kind that have brightly distort stems in similar colors .
Melampodium
Melampodiumgrows a fundament grandiloquent and wide and support an copiousness of small , yellow daisy - similar flowers . This yearbook is bonk for its constant display of blossoms , and it graces any garden with tons of golden color . Blooming nonstop from spring through frost , genus Melampodium can be used in bed or container as a cheerful filler .
Nasturtium
gentle - to - grownasturtiumflowers come in a range of colors , from yellow and orange to bright ruddy . The rounded leaves create an interesting direct contrast with the large just leaves of Swiss chard . Both the leaves and flowers of genus Nasturtium are edible , so you’re able to use both parts of the plant in the kitchen .
Garden Plans for Swiss Chard
Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Plan
Helen Smythe
This raised - bed vegetable garden plan include Swiss chard for harvesting from spring through fall . Planning a vegetable garden and successfully reap your own produce is well-off with this three - time of year plan for a raise bottom .
Large-Scale Produce Garden Plan
For those with a large space for their vegetable garden , this large - scale plan includes both vegetables and herbs . It has a small of everything : leafy greens , root veggies , herbaceous plant , and tasty pods . Several plant in this plan , such as Swiss chard , Brassica oleracea italica , peas , cabbage , carrots , and lettuce , arefrost - broad vegetables that can withstand cooler temperatures .
Frequently Asked Questions
Althoughusually grow as an yearly , Swiss chard is a biennial , which have in mind it produces impart the first year and seeds the second year . Modern leaves often regrow in spring from the late twelvemonth ’s plants , providing an other harvest for bounce salads . However , once it initiate sending up a seed stalk , the leave-taking turn acid , and it ’s time to tear it and plant something else .
Yes . reap the kayoed leaves so that the center of the works continues to bring forth new leaves . Harvest on a regular basis and utilise a discriminating knife or scissors grip to swerve the leaves about an column inch above the soil .
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit:Helen Smythe
