Every gardener should try growing Swiss chard at some power point . Whether you ’re a novice or know , the plant life will pay back you with a H.M.S. Bounty of healthy , leafy greens with comparatively little fuss .
Swiss chard is similar to Spinacia oleracea , but has a more earthy flavor and comes in lots of bright color to pretty up your vegetable while . Like prickly-seeded spinach , Swiss chard is rich in Fe and other elements . It ’s a great source of low - fat vitamin E , which we typically derive from fat nutrient .
Swiss chard grows well in garden or pots and is a prolific leaf - maturate vegetable that ’s quick to prepare for eating . Bonus : it ’s also easy to hide in your children ’s dinner for a stealthy health rise .
Varieties of Swiss Chard
There are lots of variety of Swiss chard out there , ranging in color and size .
Green Lucullus
Green Lucullus is possibly the most vulgar and well recognize Swiss chard . Originally an Italian heirloom variety , it has dreary unripe leaf and white , crisp stalks . This is a nice variety show if you live in a hot sphere because it ’s more warmth tolerant than some other type .
Orange Fantasia
As the name suggests , a pretty orangish variety . It holds its color even after being cooked . Both beautiful and tasty .
Neon Lights
This coloured smorgasbord reckon lovely on a sunny twenty-four hour period because the ruby-red , orange , pink , and yellow leaves seem to radiate in the sunshine . The parting are specially tasty when they ’re unseasoned .
Peppermint
Peppermint is another plebeian variety you ’ll often see in stores . It has distinctive scarlet and ashen stripy stalks . It ’s disease insubordinate and dense to bolt .
Barese
Barese is a compendious spring up Swiss chard . A midget variety , it has large stamp leaves with white stalks and matures earlier than other varieties .
Magenta Sunset
This potpourri of chard has a milder flavor and bright pinkish stalks . It tends to absquatulate if it ’s queer to cool temperatures early on .
Oriole
Oriole has gorgeous golden stalk with dark green leaf . It was discover after the Oriole bird and add together beautiful color to the garden . It get on in 60 day and is heat and frigid tolerant .
Fordhook Giant
This glum green chard has thick , tender leaves and is prolific even in the rut . It gets 16 - inch tall and matures in 60 days .
Flamingo
As the name implies , this chard has endearing pink stem . It ’s an heirloom variety that is slow to bolt .
How to Grow Swiss Chard
Growing Zones
Swiss Chard grows well in zones 2 - 10 . It ’s a capital cold weather condition plant that also tolerates cheery , warm weather .
Sun Requirements
Swiss Chard like full sun but will tolerate fond shade . I regain that if the weather condition is cooler , full Sunday is best .
Soil Requirements
Swiss Chard likes fertile , well - composted soil that has good drain . If your filth is especially miserable , employ a well - equilibrise fertilizer a week before planting . Chard prefers pH between 6.0 - 6.5 .
When to Plant
Plant your seed about 2 - 3 weeks before the last frost date . Continue to plant a fistful of seeds every 10 sidereal day or so for the first month to ensure you have a uninterrupted provision . you could also set a crop in the gloam 40 days before the first icing engagement .
Container Planting
Swiss chard grows well in containers , and the benefit is you could direct the mickle near your kitchen for a quick harvest home . Use a near calibre container dirt mix and slow exit fertilizer specifically for potted plant life .
Germinating Seeds
you may seed the seminal fluid into the garden or individual green goddess . Plant seeds in the garden about a half in deep .
Spacing
industrial plant rows about 18 column inch apart because if all go well , your Swiss chard will grow big and you ’ll postulate plenty of airflow to help keep disease at bay .
Caring for Swiss Chard
Fertilizer
Give Swiss chard a side - dressing of well - moulder compost or manure mid - season . You do n’t want to apply too much fertilizer to these plant . With Swiss chard , bigger is not always better because some salmagundi will lose feeling if the leaves get too bighearted . You want to go for recondite , bright color and good condition rather than size .
Water
Consistent tearing is key for Swiss chard . When the weather condition is hot it will appreciate a unspoilt soak , at least 1 - 2 inches per week . piss the territory around the home of the plant , not the folio to avoid scorching in the red-hot sun and you do n’t want to encourage disease .
Mulching
Give flora a layer of mulch to assist conserve water , especially in hot areas .
Common Problems and Solutions for Growing Swiss Chard
Like most leafy greens , insects bonk Swiss chard . It can also be susceptible to various diseases and problems . full land andgarden maintenancewill prevent a lot of issues .
Aphids
It seems like aphids attack just about every flora out there . The flyspeck pests suck the life out of your growing Swiss chard works . Spray them off of your plants with a strong blast of water and then go for neem petroleum to keep them from return .
Cutworms
Cutworms are the cat of a diversity of night - flying moth . They nibble through the base of works stems . They can toss off an entire dustup of grow Swiss chard plants in one Nox .
Stop them by putting cardboard collars around your chard plants , keeping your garden weed to keep them from have a place to hide , and hand - pick the caterpillars at night .
Wireworms
Wireworms are the larva of the click beetle . They live underground and nibble on the roots of plant . They ’re difficult to kill . habit repeated practical app of pyrethrin - based atomizer to check them and bring out beneficial insects into your garden . you’re able to also place gob in your territory .
Nematodes
roundworm are microscopic roundworms that cause galls on the root of chard . They can cause loss of vigor and reduced development in plants . Purchase certify nematode - gratuitous plants and hygienise your tools between use . Also be certain to spread out your crop , mean you should n’t plant genus Brassica in the same space for several year in a words . If you get them , insolate your land to down them off .
Snails and Slugs
disregardless of the variety of sluggard and snail in your orbit , they ’ll love your Swiss chard . They reproduce rapidly and will consume your endearing greens .
I find the best agency to get free of them is two - fold . habituate a child and pet - favorable escargot pellet . There are some available that are waterproof , so you do n’t have to replace them as often .
Second , go out at night and hand - pick them off plants . Either squash them or do what I do and feed them to your chicken . If you ’re going to do this , do n’t poison the snail with pellets .
Leaf Miner
The damage cause by leaf miner evince up as runway through your leafy commons . The larvae of this small fly burrow into the interior of the leaf . It ’s unsightly , and no one wants to rust Swiss chard that looks like this .
I ’ve found this to be my number one issue with Swiss chard . apply either a worldwide pesticide or my preference , regular spray ofneem oil .
Flea Beetle
These little insects will leave holes in the leaves , often call shot holes . The flea mallet is usually too modest to do much damage , but they can disseminate disease between plants .
I prefer to practice neem oil over insecticide for flea beetles , but you involve to employ the neem oil early in the season to do much good .
Circospora Leafspot
This is a fungous disease that affect most plants and forms unsightly spots on the leafy part of the Swiss chard . I ’ve pick up it get so bad to the point where the leaf appears to have a gray mould on the control surface . Yield from the plant life and quality are both affected . finally , the plant infects those around it .
There are severalfungicidesavailable for master leafspot , but I usually absent the whole plant and throw away in the food waste , not the compost heap . practise good soil hygienics and remove any debris and drained botany from your garden .
Downy Mildew
humidness and overweening moisture are the most common cause of this disease . Avoid irrigate the leaves and see to it you have plenty of space between the industrial plant . Pick leaves regularly to thin out the single flora .
If you see the revealing sign of a grey powdery mark forming on the leaf , remove the affected section and throw in the garbage . Then spray plants with a fungicide spray that contains copper .
Bacterial Soft Rot
Bacterial soft rot is one of the most devastating diseases out there for commercial growers . Once you have it , you ca n’t cure it , and it can destroy your plants .
Controlling water is your skillful option . Do n’t overwater plants , apply piddle to the root , keep plenty of space between plant life , and pee in the morning so industrial plant can dry by the evening .
desexualize tools between use , keep your garden bed free of weeds and toss out any septic plants that you regain .
Curly Tops
Curly big top is a virus propagate by leafhoppers . Your best bet to avoiding this disease is to control pests using neem oil or pesticides .
Mosaic Virus
Mosaic computer virus shows up as spot on plants , crinkle leaves , yellow veins , and scrawny growth . Treat plants with neem oil , keep garden beds weeded , desexualize tools between use , and put down any infected plant .
Companion Plants for Swiss Chard
Try get Swiss chard with :
Do n’t imbed Swiss chard with :
How to Harvest And Use Swiss Chard
apply a knifelike knife and turn off the large , outer leaves at the bottom of the stalk about an column inch off the ground . Do n’t be tempted to rip or bust the stalk as this can damage the plant and allow disease into it . Plants are quick 40 - 60 day after plant when they ’re 6 - 8 inches tall .
One of the great things about chard is you could piece the large leafage as you ask them and allow the small ones to grow . A few healthy plants should last your fellowship for the season , particularly if you stagger your planting .
Swiss chard is versatile and tasty . Sautee it in a picayune butter and newly ground Myristica fragrans , add together it to lather at any point in the cookery or eat it clean , thinly sliced in salad . tote up it to pasta ravisher and habituate it in place of spinach plant .
I put it in the blender with pith to make burgers and the kids have no idea it ’s in there .
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