vegetable > spinach beet
IN THIS GUIDE
SWISS leaf beet GUIDES
Growing From SeedHarvesting
Both the bright green leaf and the bright red stalks of Swiss Chard have their own rich flavours which vary from cultivar to cultivar .
This useful veg is easy to grow and is prolific enough to cater a continuous provision of tasty greens for month on final stage .
Ruffled , ruck leaves in a smart as a whip or rich shade of green bisected by a colourful leafstalk that is quite often a bright , popping red will decorate your garden if you get Swiss Chard .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height40 - 50 cm
Spread23 - 30 atomic number 96
PreferredRich & Fertile Loam
MoistureMoist and well drain
pHSlightly Acidic
If you have n’t heard of Swiss Chard , perhaps you know it by another name .
This leafy green – rather like a private eye – lead around by many an alias .
Some of the more well - known ones are Silver Beet , Leaf Beet , Seakale Beet , Beet Spinach , Perpetual Spinach , and Ruby Chard .
As for Chard ’s ‘ given name ’ – it ’s quite a mouthful .
You see , this vegetable is a sub - specie of beetroot , the radical veggie .
Beetroot ’s botanical name isBeta vulgaris , so Chard ’s ( rather lengthy ) botanic name isBeta vulgarissubsp.cicla .
One could describe Chard as bridging spinach and cole .
Its several cultivars have sufficiently alter savour to please prickly-seeded spinach - lovers and kale - lovers … andquite peradventure also those who do not like either spinach or kale !
Commonly Grown Cultivars
Not very many Chard cultivars are commonly grown or useable but from those that are we have pick out half - a - dozen of the good .
All but the first are recipient of the RHS ’s Award of Garden Merit .
Chard cultivars vary in colour , taste , and other characteristic as well .
However , almost all of them grow to 40 - 50 cm in height , and to 23 - 30 centimetre in facing pages .
‘ Perpetual Spinach’is identified by its very name as a cultivar that you’re able to be ensure of harvest on a keep basis . It is more spinach plant - corresponding than most Chards and make up a ok spinach plant substitute . This variety keeps particularly well , and can be refrigerate longer than most others , and is the best one to salt away quick-frozen .
“ ‘ Perpetual Spinach ’ is my favourite chard because of its small and often mode of harvesting , ” say Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .
“ It also has a very foresighted harvesting season from late saltation well into fall . It ’s taste perception and use in the kitchen are very much like that of spinach plant . ”
‘ Rhubarb Chard’or‘Ruby Chard’is the cultivar that gives Swiss Chard its reputation for ornamental value . Though the leafage are tasty enough , this variety is probably one for cosmetic value : the scallopy , crinkled leaves are a brilliant , deep nuance of green while the petiole , midvein and even the vein are an as vivid ruby red .
‘ Fantasy’splits the difference between gustatory sensation and ornamentation . It has ruffled vivid greenish farewell and also bright red petioles and veining . It is very flavourful but with a pleasingly mild taste without any ‘ insect bite ’ . It is perhaps the best variety for eating stark naked in salads .
‘ fink Yellow’is also ornamental and tasty but in a different way . The leaves are of a rich , bright green color while the petiole and midribs are bright yellow . It has a heavy , more ‘ substantial ’ taste with a touch of pepper or vitriolic , making it an excellent preparation sort .
‘ Lucullus’is an heirloom variety that is well known to be prolific . Its long suit are heavily skew towards gustatory perception rather than ornament . The yellowish - unripened leaf are as tasty as any greenish vegetable . The petioles are ‘ simply ’ white but they too are tasty and juicy , and make a very unspoilt Asparagus officinales backup . It does not tolerate to a fault - wet soil .
‘ Fordhook Giant’is also an heirloom variety show that is renowned for its vigorous emergence . It is also particularly hardy and the most Robert Frost - resistant , allowing the gardener to harvest leaves through winter so long as the ground is not frozen over . Its leaves are almost the colour of kale while its stems and petioles are creamy whitened . It is powerfully season and is enceinte for cooked dishes .
When & Where To Plant
As average icing appointment variegate very widely in the United Kingdom it is not potential to intend a single timeframe for the whole country for plant Chard .
The Chard - farm season will be more strained in northerly regions and in cold geographical zone because you must plant germ later on in the season and you must make your final harvest before the first frost of the time of year .
For the most part , in England and Wales Chard seed can be sown from the starting time of April through early September though it is not advisable to implant this veggie during May and June .
Though you may engraft come about ten days before the last expect frost particular date , we advise that you wait out the last frost of the season and then seed seed .
you’re able to sow Chard source up to about ten weeks before the season ’s first expected hoar .
As a world-wide linguistic rule , plant Chard at the top of bound and the end of summer with April and mid - July - to - mid - August being the best time periods .
By all means , admit your outflow - planted Chard plants to grow through summer but it is not a good estimate toplantSwiss Chard for growing during the summertime months .
Though one can harvest on a continue foundation from Swiss Chard industrial plant , one can practice succession seed with this vegetable .
Chard Plant Care
For the specifics of Chard flora care , please see the following sections .
Chard likes nutritious - rich , prolific soil that has been well cultivated .
Any type of loam will do so long as you till it well and profoundly , and operate in ample organic compost or well - rot manure .
The soil should drain very well .
The ideal soil pH is slightly acidulous , that is with a pH of 6.1 to 6.5 . Of course , there is some leeway and anything from moderately acidic to achromatic will knead out .
As the seedling grow , one necessary care task is to thin out the young plant life .
When the plants are vernal , between 5 - 10 centimeter improbable , thin them to about 25 atomic number 96 apart . Do so by cutting off the plants at the base .
If you pull them up , be very careful not to stir up the shallow rootage of the side by side young works !
The thinned Chard plants should not be compost or thrown away – they will make tasty additions to salad and stir - fries .
Swiss Chard should be sited in full sunlight . A few hr of tone is okay but the more Dominicus the plant gets , the better the harvest .
Any aspect will do but it should be develop in a sheltered location .
Water the plants regularly but in easing .
take aim to irrigate about twice a week such that the planting area is maintain moist – it should not be intoxicate through and through .
When and how you feed the plants depends on when you sowed the seed and on the lineament of your dirt .
As a general rule , feed the plant 20 - 25 week after sowing .
If your soil is nutrient - rich to begin with then simply work in a small quantity of organic compost or well - rot manure into the filth around the industrial plant .
If not , then feed in the works with a plant food .
Blood , Fish & Bone is a very sound option if your land is short .
We suggest organic vegetable liquid fertiliser , appropriately diluted , as the easy alternative .
hold the planting area for weeds regularly as they will involve the growth and vim of Chard plants .
Consider mulch around the plants to suppress weed growth .
Avoid using any chemical sens slayer near Chard ( or any other edibles ) .
In grooming for winter lay mulch to about 15 centimeter .
Do so right after you have made your last harvest home of the season ; do not hold off until the frost .
An constitutive mulch of compost , parting , and pine needle will serve the intention very well .
If you live in the frigid zones of the N and you desire to be sure of protecting your Chard plants , besides mulching them , view building a humbled tunnel over them .
Growing Chard In Pots
you may produce a single works to a small pot though if you require to get multiple plant in a larger container or in a planter , sow seed at least 5 centimetre apart and fragile later , or simply space the seeds in keeping with the spread of the mature plant in the first place .
The latter choice is perfectly viable considering how reliably Chard seeded player germinate .
Fill stool or containers with organic compost or a ample potting soil .
heap or container should have drain maw .
Water the soil after sowing so that it becomes dampish . Keep watering regularly but in easing so that the soil stick around damp to damp .
The territory should not become waterlogged . Guard against overwatering .
As with grow Chard in undefendable ground , the pots should be place in a sunny but sheltered emplacement .
Common Pests & Problems
Chard is seldom ail by any of the usual blighter and diseases that affect veg .
The plants are quite often eaten by sluggard .
They are nocturnal puppet so if you go out in the cockcrow and see tears and yap in your Chard , suspect slugs .
Deer also find Chard very nice to nibble on .
If you are grow Chard during a hot summertime , you need to be aware of a few caveat .
It will grow observably slower than it does in temperate weather condition , and the foliage will become sulphurous more quick and will need to be harvest much in the first place than normal .
ultimately , be sleepless as the plantsmaybolt , leaving you gamey and ironical .
