How to grow Swiss Chard

How to grow Swiss Chard

There aren’t many vegetables that combine head-turning looks with a delicious taste, but Swiss chard is certainly one of them.

These versatile vegetables can be enjoyed for both their spinach-like, vitamin-rich leaves and their crisp midribs or stalks, which may be eaten in much the same way as fresh asparagus – lightly steamed or stir-fried with a knob of butter and a twist of pepper. Alternatively, harvest the plants young for a tender, cut-and-come-again salad crop that keeps on supplying nutritious leaves.

The primary reason Swiss chard is such a winning vegetable to grow, however, is down to its vibrant stalks. They are available in almost every colour under the rainbow: red, orange and yellow, purple and violet, green or brilliant white – and virtually everything in-between. This varied colour palette makes chard more than just another leafy green, opening up the possibilities of using it in an ornamental border or sowing into pots on the patio where it can be admired at close quarters.

Swiss chard is closely related to spinach, but the similarities are few and far between. Despite being a cool weather crop thriving in temperatures between 15 and 18°C, chard can cope much better with extremes of temperature and is less liable to run to seed (bolt) in even quite hot weather. It will also withstand dryer periods with greater ease.

Growing chard from seed

Despite its undemanding nature, you will still get the best results if you provide as ideal conditions as possible. Pick a sunny or part-shaded position. Chard can sit in the same patch of ground for almost a full year, so soil fertility is important. Ensure yours is as fertile and moisture-retentive as you can get it by digging in plenty of well-rotted organic matter such as homemade compost.

Prepare a seedbed in which to sow by breaking up any clods of earth with the back of a fork and raking it down to a fine tilth. A week before sowing, rake in an organic fertilizer for Swiss chard, such as concentrated chicken manure pellets, to give the soil a final nitrogen boost to feed the leafy crop.

Planting chard seeds

Sow your Swiss chard seeds directly into the soil in rows about 45cm apart. Mark out the rows using a cane drawn along a string line to ensure a neat result, aiming for a depth of around 1–2cm. Drop one seed every 5cm and carefully cover them over. Firm along the row using the back of a metal rake to tamp down the soil and water it using a watering can fitted with a rose head.

If you’re sowing with the intention of enjoying a succession of smaller, cut-and-come-again baby Swiss chard leaves for salads, the distance between individual seeds can be reduced to as little as 1cm. The resulting plants can be thinned after a few complete cuts to allow a select number of them to mature to adult size and produce those brilliant stalks. Seed may also be sown two to three per module for planting out at their final spacing when they’re sufficiently large.

There are two windows for sowing chard. A spring sowing (planting time: April) will ensure a harvest of leaves through the summer and autumn, while sowings made in late summer (up to the middle of August) will complete the cropping cycle, rewarding you with leaves from a few months on right through to the following spring. Growing Swiss chard in winter is a great option for keeping your plot productive at a quieter time of the gardening year.

Swiss chard plant protection

It won’t take long for the seedlings to push through the soil, with most making an appearance within a fortnight. Summer-sown plants may require some protection as the season progresses if they are to grow vigorously throughout the autumn and winter, and a blanket of horticultural fleece or a row of cloches should do the trick.

Similarly, seed sown at the beginning of spring will achieve best results if given a protective blanket of fleece draped over a supporting frame. Although chard requires little special attention, the young seedlings happen to be a favourite of the bird population, so this protective blanket will not only keep late frosts at bay but will provide a barrier to curious beaks.

How to cook Swiss chard

There are plenty of ways to eat Swiss chard, see our recipe section for more ideas. You could add the younger leaves to a salad, using them where you would normally use lettuce. To brighten it up, try chopping up the stalks of the ‘Bright Lights’ variety and adding them to your salad. Alternatively, leave them whole and stuff them with cream cheese – a colourful way to prepare them, which might just convert Swiss chard sceptics into fans of this versatile vegetable.

Growing in an ornamental container garden

The recent interest in Swiss chard is almost certainly down to its eclectic range of stem colours, lending decorative appeal to make them a winning ingredient in potagers and other ornamental plots. Try sowing into large containers filled with soil-based compost or a mixture of good garden soil with added organic matter. Thin them to similar spacings as ground-grown chards.