How to grow Swiss Chard

Beta vulgaris · chard, silver beet

A leafy beet grown for its large leaves and thick, often colourful stalks. It is picked again and again over a long season and takes light frosts; in mild climates it survives the winter outdoors.

Quick facts

Type	Vegetable
Family	Amaranthaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 5 °C
Germination	10 days
Seedlings ready	30 days
Sowing to harvest	50 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 6 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 50 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	15…22 °C	—
Growth	every 3 days	12…24 °C	nitrogen, 14 days into the stage
Harvest	every 3 days	10…24 °C	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	10…20 °C	—
Growth	every 4 days	5…24 °C	nitrogen, 14 days into the stage
Harvest	every 4 days	0…24 °C	—

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	18…22 °C	—
Growth	every 3 days	15…24 °C	nitrogen, 14 days into the stage
Harvest	every 3 days	15…24 °C	—

Growing notes

Light

Grows best in full sun, at least 6 hours a day; tolerates light shade, especially in hot summers.

Soil

Rich, moisture-retentive but free-draining soil with plenty of compost, pH 6–7.

Care

Water young plants regularly and give 25–50 mm a week in dry spells; hot weather can make plants bolt. Side-dress once with a nitrogen fertiliser about four weeks after transplanting or thinning; in fertile soil chard often needs no feeding. Pick the outer leaves and let the centre keep growing.

Pests and diseases of Swiss Chard

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.