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Garden Tweet! / Fencing
Swiss chard
M
arch means the start of the outdoor sowing season in the UK, as the days begin to lengthen and become warmer. I discovered Swiss chard several years ago when I was looking for something more interesting than spinach. It’s rarely found in the supermarkets for some reason and is quite delicious. It’s also easy to grow and doesn’t require much maintenance. Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens is sometimes called Rainbow Chard because of its ornamental stems. The fact it’s so decorative, with its large fleshy dark green leaves and bright stalks in shades of red, purple, gold and white make it a good choice for a small garden. It looks attractive in containers or borders. To grow it, choose a sunny (but not sunbaked) spot, prepare the soil well (or use compost in a large container), make shallow drills about 40cm apart and sow the chard seeds thinly, approximately 1.5cm deep. Cover the seeds with soil and water well. You can start sowing in March, then every few weeks you can repeat sow, until September for a continuous crop that will even see you through the winter if you give it a little protection. I move my pots to the greenhouse. As the seedlings begin to grow, thin out the
s, ve ted s, ol ct ce on ha la er to ta la cti u -re ow s, on ll p se y o n ( f l e d c wi n If rde ss sh ase e rde ga e s, le . W a a sin se c) p ay r G a u bu ho , et tod pul n s t o e e e r ee p gr ow Tw our m ge in lla d Vi r a u yo
Garden View
plants so that they’re 2530cm apart. Water well after thinning. Chard is an easy vegetable to look after but keep an eye open for slugs and snails. Birds also seem to like the little seedlings (at least in my garden) so you might need to protect them. Young chard leaves can be eaten fresh so use the early thinned leaves for salads. The adult chard leaves are ready to harvest about 10-12 weeks after sowing, though later in the year it will take a little longer. It’s a wonderful cutand-come-again plant. Cut individual leaves as you need them, and the plant will keep producing new growth. So, which Swiss chard varieties to try? My favourite variety is ‘Bright Lights’ which has rainbow-coloured stems. It’s particularly good for autumn crops. ‘Fantasy’ has pretty red stems and is good if your garden tends to be damp as it’s resistant to mildew. As its name suggests ‘Bright Yellow’ has yellow stalks and is very striking. All three of these varieties can be overwintered with a little protection and provide you with an early crop the following spring. Happy Gardening! Rachel Leverton
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Free estimates and advice. Call any time including evenings and weekends
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