Chard (Swiss chard): Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow chard outdoors successfully?
Sow chard from spring to mid-summer when soil conditions allow good germination, adapting the date to your climate and seed packet instructions. Choose fertile, well-drained soil in sun or light summer shade. Remove competing weeds and prepare a fine surface.
Make drills about 2–2.5 cm deep, spaced about 45 cm apart. Sow about 10 cm apart, cover and water gently. Keep the soil moist without waterlogging during germination.
Thin gradually to about 30 cm between plants for large leaves and stalks. Closer spacing is possible for baby-leaf crops. Watch for slugs and snails, especially as seedlings emerge. Routine earthing up is not necessary.
One chard seed cluster can produce several seedlings close together: check the little groups when thinning, even if you spaced your sowing carefully. Keep vigorous plants and remove the surplus gently. Mark the rows to make weeding between them easier. Healthy young leaves removed during thinning can be used after washing rather than left on the seedbed.
How to care for this plant
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Thin seedlings
After emergence, check your chard clusters: one seed can produce several seedlings. For large leaves and well-developed stalks, thin gradually to about 30 cm apart. For baby leaves, 5 cm spacing is enough.
How do you harvest chard?
Harvest timing depends on sowing, variety and climate, rather than being limited to June or July. Regularly pick a few well-developed outer leaves with their stalks, cutting cleanly at the base. Keep several central leaves and protect the crown for later harvests.
If you take all the leaves from an established plant, cut at least 5 cm above the base and allow more time for regrowth. Do not uproot the plant or cut through its crown. Young leaves can be picked earlier for salads.
Use chard promptly or keep it briefly in the fridge. Discard spoiled leaves. For longer storage, blanch and cool the leaves and stalks, then drain and freeze them. Thick stalks usually need more cooking time than the leaves.
Support each leaf by its stalk while cutting so you do not pull the whole plant up. Spread your picking across several plants and wait for fresh leaves before returning to one you have harvested heavily. The heart consists of the small, closely packed central leaves: locate it before using your knife. Avoid forcing large leaves into a basket, as their stalks break easily.
Chard (Swiss chard)
- Type : Vegetables
- Subtype : Leafy vegetables
- Botanical Family : Chenopodiaceae
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Biennial
- Exposure : Partial Shade
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 40 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Sowing Depth : 1 cm
- Plant Spacing : 50 cm
- Row Spacing : 50 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : High
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Sowing