Swiss chard is a salad green that grows well in cool weather and keeps producing until a hard freeze kills it. You can eat it raw or cook it like spinach.
Growing Swiss Chard In Your Garden
Swiss chard tolerates warm to hot
temperatures and dry conditions like a champ. Swiss chard is rich
in vitamins E, K, and C as well as the minerals magnesium,
manganese, and iron. Sources:
9
Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable
closely related to beets and spinach. Its colorful leaves are ideal
for edible gardens and ornamental plants. It is a popular vegetable
because you can enjoy the leaves and stems to add a splash of color
to your vegetable garden. Sources:
8, 9
Unlike many green leafy vegetables,
Swiss chard prefers a soil rich in organic matter and grows best
under favorable conditions with greater attention to fertilization.
Like turnips and spinach, the leaves are edible and taste raw or
baby green, but can also be grown as a savory green that can be
fried with tasty side dishes. Sources: 4, 8
To grow healthy Swiss chard, use a good
soil mixture with a lot of organic matter. Keep Swiss chard mulched
with organic mulch to protect the roots and keep the moisture. When
grown in the garden, Swiss CHARD can be grown in pots that contain
almost everything that makes it ideal as a terrace or balcony
plant. Sources: 0,
4
If you grow several plants for abundant
crops, keep them about 4-5 inches apart in your container. When
growing these plants, if you have little space, try pruning the old
outer leaves after harvesting or developing a method to allow the
smaller, more delicate leaves to grow. You can plant the seeds in
the house or plant them in a garden and if they have 3 real leaves,
plant them in the garden. Sources: 0, 8
Swiss chard is very sensitive to summer
heat, so plant it where it gets some shade in the hot summer
months. The optimum soil temperature is between 10-30 degrees
Celsius and it grows best when planted in the cool
season. Sources:
8
If you grow chard leaves, stems orchard
roots, you should make sure that you fertilize your plants as they
grow. This nitrogen-rich, slow-releasing fertilizer is ideal to
ensure that it provides plenty of nutrition for the development of
large, healthy Swiss CHARD leaves. Place the seeds about 12 “apart
and near small, tender plants that can be added to salads.
Sources: 7,
8
The best time to sow Swiss chard is 2-3
weeks after the last spring frost. For optimal germination, the
temperature for Swiss chard should be about 85 Fahrenheit, but the
plant itself will work best at 40 F to 95 F. An early start is to
sow Swiss chard (also called Swiss chard) indoors for an average of
3-4 weeks from the last frost date in spring and transplant the
plants at a height of 7 to 10 cm. Sources: 3, 7
Swiss chard produces delicious,
delicate, 10 tall, dark glossy green leaves with tightly curled
edges. Swiss chard belongs to the beet family and forms its
rosettes of large green leaves on thick red or white stalks.
Rainbow Swiss Swiss Swiss Swiss Chard has a mixture of several
colored varieties, with leaves in shades of red, orange, violet,
yellow, and white. Sources: 3,
9
Below you will learn how to grow Swiss
chard and how to incorporate it into your diet in a variety of
ways. The quick guide to spinach and Swiss chard You can sow both
spinach and Swiss chard directly. Both grow new leaves from the
first harvest, but you can harvest individual leaves in the baby
stage and multiple harvests are possible. Sources: 1, 9
Swiss chard prefers loose, deep, fertile
soils rich in organic matter. Liquid fertilizer, compost, and tea
can be used in summer to maintain growth. Swiss chard grows and
functions well in well-drained soils that are rich in organic
matter but do not prefer acidic soils. Sources: 3, 6
Mulch suppresses weeds that compete with
chard for moisture and vital soil nutrients. Swiss chard grows best
at cool temperatures, as high temperatures slow down leaf
production. Grapes probably produce several seedlings that are
thinner and stronger than seedlings of plants that are 7 cm
high. Sources: 3,
4
Swiss chard can be grown throughout the
year or can live for several years as semi-permanent chard in
temperate regions if the conditions are right. Known as the harvest
of the cool season, it should be grown in spring and autumn to
avoid heat in summer and possible extreme cold. When chard starts
or grows from seed, it prefers soil temperatures between 40 F and
45 C. Sources:
4
In summer the Swiss chard grows slowly,
but as long as the soil is not too dry, the Swiss chard grows
leaves. As it does not flower, it can survive the winter, but there
is a risk that it will become clogged in the summer heat. Harvest
the day before the leaves wilt and pick in full sun on a warm
day. Sources: 1,
5
Young chard leaves taste sweeter than
spinach, so chard should be used instead of spinach. Swiss chard is
cold tolerant and will continue to grow in the garden even after a
frost, even if temperatures drop into the mid-20s. Fridges keep
chard fresh in southern Wisconsin through
December. Sources:
5
Swiss chard prefers cool temperatures
and higher temperatures slow leaf production and tolerates heat
better than spinach and is bolted more easily than spinach. It
thrives best in full sun, but also tolerates partial shade and
likes fertile, well-working soil with good drainage and high
organic content. You can plant Swiss chard from seeds or seed
clusters containing several seeds per month, with an average date
of the last frost in midsummer. Sources: 5
Swiss chard is easy to grow in the
garden and produces tasty leaves in spring and autumn, but like
spinach, it can be frustrating for gardeners. When chard plants are
densely packed, they produce smaller leaves and more of
them. Sources: 1,
5
Those who grow Swiss chard for their
leaves want a rich soil with a lot of organic matter. Swiss chard
likes acidic soils with a pH value between 6.0 and 6.4, but can
also tolerate neutral soils. Swiss chard should have a pH below the
acidic soil, while spinach should have a low pH of about
6. Sources: 1,
2
Swiss chard is not a favorite plant of deer that eat it when there is not much available in autumn. Slugs nibble on Swiss chard like Swiss cheese leaves or tunnel ribs.
Growing Mini Guide
- Soil
preparation: Chard likes rich, well-drained soil in a sunny site. Sow seed two to
four weeks before the last expected frost; you can sow successive
plantings until late
summer.
- Spacing: Plant chard in rows about 1½ feet apart. Direct-sow seeds 1 to 3 inches apart, and thin them to 5 to 8 inches apart when the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall.
- Watering: Water during dry spells.
- Fertilizing: Dig in compost before planting.
Pest Watch
Flea beetles are small, shiny, black beetles that chew little holes through chard leaves.
Disease Alert
Downy mildew produces pale yellow spots on leaves.
Harvest Hints
Pick the outer leaves of swiss chard as needed. Smaller leaves are best used for salad. Larger leaves can be used in stir-fries and for braising. You can refrigerate chard for up to two weeks after you’ve picked it.
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Cited Sources
- https://balconygardenweb.com/growing-swiss-chard-in-pots-how-to-plant-containers/ 0
- https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-spinach-and-swiss-chard 1
- https://www.thespruce.com/growing-swiss-chard-1403466 2
- https://harvesttotable.com/how_to_grow_chard/ 3
- https://www.plantfoodathome.com/how-to-grow-swiss-chard/ 4
- https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/swiss-chard/ 5
- https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/how-to-grow/grow-swiss-chard 6
- https://www.epicgardening.com/growing-swiss-chard/ 7
- https://gardentherapy.ca/swiss-chard-grow-it-eat-it/ 8
- https://growinginthegarden.com/how-to-grow-swiss-chard/ 9
