Little Furrow How to Grow Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable that is a must have in any garden! Chard is full of amazing vitamins and minerals including Calcium, vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and potassium, making it a great addition to any meal to add a healthy kick. Growing Swiss chard is easy and is a beautiful addition to any garden. Try growing varieties like rainbow chard to add some gorgeous pops of color to your garden beds! Swiss chard is great for beginner growers. While Swiss chard prefers cooler temperatures for growing, it will grow just about anywhere and still be great.

Soil

Chard likes rich well draining soil with a neutral PH of around 6.8. This will be the case for most vegetables in your garden. Amend with rich compost to keep nutrients high and drainage good. When we say neutral soil, we mean not too acidic and not too alkaline. The easiest way to gauge the PH of your soil is with a soil monitor like this one from Earth Easy. If you find your soil is too acidic, you can actually add a bit of wood ash to make it more neutral. To add organic matter to your top soil, choose a really high quality compost or manure to add to your mix. This will ensure your chard gets enough food, and it will help with water retention, but also drainage. It’s important to not use raw/fresh manure in your garden as it can “burn” your veg and be detrimental. It can also carry bacteria that can contaminate your produce. Compost also helps regulate the acidity in your soil.

Water

Swiss Chard likes nice moist soil that is evenly watered throughout the week. Chard does best with about 1.5 inches of water per week, which roughly comes out to about 1 gallon of water per square foot of chard in your garden. If you live in an area where it rains at all during the spring, summer, and fall months, it can be helpful to have a rain gauge in your garden. This will tell you how much it has rained, so that you can adjust your watering accordingly .

Light

While chard can handle partial shade, it prefers full sun to grow the healthiest it can. Full sun means six to eight hours of sunlight per day at minimum. If you’re putting in a garden for the first time, it is a super important to sun map your yard. Try taking pictures of your full yard throughout the day and compare them all to each other at the end of the day. You’ll want to put your garden in a space that consistently has the most sun. Take note of trees and buildings that could shade out your garden as well.

Planting

Plant your chard seeds 3 weeks before your average last frost date, or for fall planting, 30-40 days before your average first frost. If you use a hoop house or plastic row covers, you can extend their harvest even more, however, your chard will still be harvestable until it reaches around 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Plant your chard 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart. As they grow, thin your chard to 1 foot apart so that they have plenty of space to grow. As Chard does best in cooler weather, don’t wait too long to get your seeds in the ground.

Harvest

Once your chard is big enough to start harvesting, you’ll want to cut the chard leaves from the outside in. This allows the heart of the chard to continue to grow so you get a consistent harvest over time.

Fertilizing

Swiss Chard does well in nutrient dense soil, but it doesn’t necessarily need fertilizer. If your soil is amended with a high quality compost, your chard should be very happy without anything else!

Pests

There are many common garden pests that are drawn to swiss chard, including aphids, leaf miners, and cabbage worms. There are a few things you can do to minimize the chances of your chard getting bothered by these pests. These organic growing practices and natural sprays can help.

Neem Oil

Neam oil is a natural insecticide that can be used to kill pests like Aphids, Leaf Miners, and Cabbage Worms. It disrupts their hormonal balance and makes it hard for them to feed and reproduce. It can be a great way of getting rid of these pests, but it can also harm beneficial pollinators and bugs as well, so use caution. There are many neem oils on the market, so buy whichever one looks good to you and follow the directions for use on the back of your bottle. Some will require mixing the Neem with water and then spraying it on your plants. Spray directly on affected areas every couple days until the problem is resolved. You can also use neem as a preventive by spraying it on your plants every two weeks or so.

Garlic Spray

We love homemade garlic spray because of how natural it is! We think using plants to protect other plants is really cool. Garlic has sulfur compounds including allicin that are toxic to the aphids and other pests and can mess with their sense of smell and confuse them. To make garlic spray at home, chop some garlic, one clove for every cup of water you use and cover it in boiling water. Let cool, then pour it into a spray bottle, add a little dish soap and give it a shake. Spray on affected areas of your plants every few days till you see improvements.

Soap Spray + Essential Oils

Soapy spray can help with aphids, because when the aphids are sprayed down, it will suffocate and kill them. To make the spray, add some natural dish soap to water along with a few drops of some essential oil of choice. You can use peppermint, clove, thyme, or rosemary. To use, spray all over the pests and leave for a few hours before rinsing off with water. Continue until the pests are gone.

Companion Planting

We always recommend companion planting, as it’s just a wonderful way of controlling pests in your entire garden. Pollinators are the natural predator to many common garden pests, and planting flowers like French Marigold, Borage, Chamomile, Fennel, and Dill can attract them to your garden. Plant all around your garden for best results. These flowers can also act as a trap crop.