Pot size for Rainbow Chard ??

[cazp]

Hi All
Interested in hearing from anyone who has grown chard in containers - and what size pot they used / how many plants per pot.

I have some 7 litre pots to hand (flower pots from Morrisons) but having read that chard can grow quite big, I wonder if they will be too small.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

[broadway]

I'm interested in this as I have some currently growing in seed trays , thanks for posting cazp

[Lazgaot]

7l should be ok but expect small plants. Rainbow Chard can grow on and on for months developing a massive root system, so possibly 1 or 2 plants at most per pot. They can grow quite tall too so consider harvesting the leaves regularly or keep the pots out of the wind to stop them blowing over.

These are mine last May after coming through the winter and having fed us for months. The had started bolting a few weeks earlier and I pulled them up a few weeks later.

[cazp]

Thanks Lazgaot. I will probably use bigger pots then, because I would really like decent sized plants - I had originally thought of 4 plants in a 60 litre container so maybe I will revert back to that idea.....

[cazp]

Just had another idea - perhaps I could plant them in those £1 builders buckets from Focus.. I think they are about 12 litres... one plant per bucket might work and give good sized plants perhaps?

[Lazgaot]

2 or 3 plants in a 12 litre bucket would work quite well.

[Rabidbun]

Did mine in a trough till I had room to plant them out and they ended up being in there around two or three months before I could.

If it helps at all, at their largest (6 inches soil depth and six inches space between plants) they got to around 10-12 inches tall. At the other end of the scale, others were only 3-4 inches apart with the six inch depth and they were unhappy at ~4 inches tall. Both transplanted very well though.

[cazp]

Rabidbun, that great advice. I gathered from bits I read here and there that the size of chard depends on the space it has available, and your information is a great reference.

How many of the 10-12 inch plants did you have, and did it yield sufficiently?

[zazen999]

cazp - I grow swiss chard on our decking in small pots, and the plants do stay quite small...I grow it there as it is next to the canal and looks good. Give them more room and the larger they get....you only need a few in large pots to give a good long harvest if you keep picking them.

[cazp]

Hi zazen... thanks for sharing your experience - what was the size of your pots out of interest?

[Rabidbun]

Glad it's of help.

Troughs were around 30 inches across so I fitted three of them in it. I found that although the yield was much less than when I planted them out later on (that stuff doesn't half wilt down when the leaves are cooked!) the stalks were much more tender when smaller. If I had to rely on just the troughs for a crop I would have done probably two or three for two people. But then I really like chard.

I would also be tempted to use deeper troughs if I was putting them in troughs again as they didn't half take some watering!

[zazen999]

Hi zazen... thanks for sharing your experience - what was the size of your pots out of interest?

Cripes - I very rarely measure anything to be honest; probably about 6 inches wide....it shattered in the frosts this year so can't remeasure it.

My technique is to chuck it in and see what occurs. I was out there this winter in the snow collecting seeds from it and they have germinated so that alone makes me happy.

[cazp]

Glad it's of help.

Troughs were around 30 inches across so I fitted three of them in it. .... If I had to rely on just the troughs for a crop I would have done probably two or three for two people.

Thanks again... hope you don't mind clarifying... were you referring to two or three plants for two people? or troughs worth of plants?

[Rabidbun]

Two or three troughs worth of plants.