I’m just going to come right out and say it: Swiss chard is highly underrated. It is one of my favorite cool weather crops to grow. It’s got brightly colored stem, so it’s aesthetically easy to integrate right into your landscaping. Plus, I don’t mind saying, it tastes significantly better than kale, and you won’t convince me otherwise.
And, there’s the fact that my daughter LOVES to add Swiss chard to her smoothies. 🙂
I typically grow Ruby Red/Rhubarb Swiss chard, but I have also done the Five Color Silverbeet {it has a rainbow of colors for stems, which makes it a little more fun to look at}. This year though I decided to plant Bright Lights seeds from Botanical Interests. I am starting the seeds under my grow lights in the laundry room for now and once the weather warms up a wee bit I’ll transplant them to the front yard.
Edible landscape, my favorite!
How to Grow Swiss Chard from Seed:
Swiss chard is not one of those crops that needs to be started indoors {but I do it to get a jump start on the growing season}. It’s a cool weather crop, so you can go ahead and directly sow it in your garden about 4 weeks before the last average frost date. While it is a cool weather crop, in this case, if mostly means that it will germinate and thrive in cooler weather.
It’s kind of awesome in that it will continue to produce for you right on through the summer, though. To plant it in your garden, push seeds 1/2″ deep and about 10″ apart. If you plant more than one seed per hole, thin them to one every 10″ when they are about 1″ tall. It’s best to use scissors to thin them, because often one seed will produce more than one plant, so pulling it will pull the roots of more than you were bargaining for.
Slugs will flock from miles around to get a bite of your Swiss chard, so I usually take preemptive precautions by placing a buried to ground level tin filled with a little Sluggo next to my plantings.
When is Swiss Chard Ready to Harvest?
When Swiss chard is about 10″ tall, it is ready to harvest. You can harvest it a couple leaves at a time, taking from the outside leaves first and working your way in. You can also harvest the whole thing at once, just make sure to cut it off so that you leave at least 2″ of the plant, that way it will regenerate.
Random Facts That Will Impress No One:
Nutritionally, Swiss chard gives kale a run for its money. One cup provides 636% of your daily vitamin K, 60% of your vitamin A, and 42% of vitamin C. Plus, it will only set you back about 35 calories–so go ahead and sautee it in a bit of olive oil or butter ;).
Both the leaves and stalks are edible. The leaves have a very mild flavor, while the stalks tend to be a little more bitter. If you find the whole thing to be a little too strong for your liking, try pulling the leaves away from the stem and using only the leaves in your recipes.
Swiss chard contains a pretty healthy dose of biotin, which helps to stimulate hair follicles and contributes to increased luster and sheen.
Do you grow Swiss chard? What’s your favorite way to eat it?
~Mavis
P.S. If you are looking for recipe ideas for your chard {or any of your garden veggies for that matter}, I HIGHLY recommend Tender by Nigel Slater. It has over 400 recipes that use straight-from-the-garden veggies and all of the ones I have tried so far are delicious!
Lisa Millar says
I grew the rainbow chard for the first time this season… its so pretty! And seemed easy enough to grow…
Sadly I am not a fan of actually eating silverbeet (I know… what’s wrong with me?) But its a great crop to have on hand to feed the chickens with and they totally love it!
I have one plant going to seed so I can plant more to keep the girls happy for a while longer!
Melanie says
I put it in soups and spaghetti sauce instead of spinach. It freezes pretty well to, so I always have some chopped up and ready in the freezer.
Laura Z says
Thanks for this guide! I like to sautee it with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a few raisins or zante currants. Sounds crazy but tastes good!
Tracy says
A few years ago, I just stopped growing anything I wasn’t completely eager to eat. Just because these plants were possible to grow, easy to grow, or commonly grown, wasn’t enough. So, I no longer grow kale, chard, brussels sprouts, broccoli, or beets, for example. Frees up space for a ridiculous amount of peas, berries, tomatoes, cabbages, many varieties of lettuces and salad greens, ground cherries, and a zillion other types I really love.
Nancy says
We sauté ours in a little olive oil with minced garlic. My DH’s Italian grandparents ate it this way, so we adopted it. Also add to stir fry instead of spinach.
Lace Faerie says
I planted six rainbow chard last spring and three of them have continued to grow new leaves all fall and winter. It’s been pretty mild up here just south of the Canadian border. Same with my beets!
Rajena says
Last year I planted a whole bunch of different greens for salad. When I would go out to pick a salad I would pick the little swiss chard leaves too. I mean they are green too, right? My husband kept saying there was one leaf in the salad that was absolutely delicious, though he didn’t know which one because he would eat a fork full at once. One day while we were both outside I decided to start plucking the different leaves from the salad greens and letting him taste them. Lo and behold it was the swiss chard, the last one on my list I would have thought it was. Unfortunately for him within just a couple weeks the plants were growing too big, too fast (hotter weather) and the leaves were then not enjoyable to eat raw. He is waiting rather impatiently for his salad greens for this year, mainly the swiss chard. 😀 Yeah Spring!!!
mandy says
Chard is my favorite green. I like a big mess of it sauteed/steamed, slowly in a a bit of butter or bacon grease, sometimes some garlic and always parmesean. It’s great in Lasagne or Manicotti. Frittatas are super good with chard. I also like to strip the leaves off the stems for sandwich, salad or tacos. The stems are actually what I like the best though when they are sauteed.
Phyl says
I won’t try to convince Mavis that kale is devine–but it’s one of my favorites. For all you kale haters, the trick is to blanch chopped kale for 4-5 minutes until the bitterness is gone and the leaves turn slightly sweet. Then saute in some bacon fat until the water has evaporated and the leaves are tender. I like to add chopped pickled beets right before serving. The red color and sweet/acid of the pickle is a perfect combo. Sauteed chard leaves with pickled beets is equally good.
Kathy says
I grew Swiss chard and it is doing very well in my raised bed right now. I’ve never eaten it though. I did pick some and saute it one time but it did not look appetizing to me so I didn’t taste it. I will definitely try it now raw in salads though.
I grow kale by the bushels. I sometimes pick a few leaves as I’m walking by it to eat. I love it chopped in salads mixed with other greens. The only way I’ll eat cooked kale is in Zuppa Tuscana soup though.
Mandy Daellenbach says
I love chard! Speaking of planting things with beautiful stalks, what about rhubarb?? I recently moved to the PNW from southern California. I had read I could plant rhubarb in fall and ordered a six pack, but everything was dead when it arrived….or dormant. There the six pack sat on my deck through winter and it is now wide awake with plants that are about 3 inches tall. I have it inside under grow lights, but when can I plant it outside? Could I do it now or is the risk of frost too dangerous? Thoughts??
Kari says
The packet of Swiss chard seeds says not recommended to start indoors. Do you know why that is? Do they not transplant well?
Mavis Butterfield says
I don’t know why actually. I have started them indoors that last few years after seeing Swiss chard sold in garden packs at the local nursery. They can be a little tricky to separate when you transplant them the first time, but you’ll get the hang of it Kari. Go for it.