Add a little extra color and nutrition to your garden and grow swiss chard this season. Swiss chard is considered a leafy green vegetable; however, the stalks may be white, yellow or red. The leaves of swiss chard can be prepared like spinach and the stalks like asparagus. The plant has high amounts of vitamin A and C and contains calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Swiss chard, like spinach, is a cool season vegetable that can tolerate frost.
Steps to Grow Swiss Chard
What You Need
Shovel
Compost
Swiss Chard Seeds
21-0-0 Fertilizer
Step 1
Prepare the soil to a depth of 6 inches. Mix compost evenly through the soil.
Step 2
Begin planting about 3 weeks before the last frost day. Soak your swiss chard seeds in warm water overnight.
Step 3
Plant each seed at a depth of ½ inches. Space each plant 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.
Step 4
Give your swiss chard 2 inches of water per week. Place mulch around your plants once the seedlings develop 3 to 4 new leaves.
Step 5
Add 21-0-0 fertilizer around your plants at a rate of ¼ cup per 10 foot row a month after sowing your plants.
Step 6
Harvest the outer leaves of your swiss chard by cutting the leaves about 1 ½ inches from the ground. Allow the center bud and leaves to continue growing for later harvest.
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