Swiss chard

Origin & history

Chard, like beetroot, sugar beet and fodder beet, descends from the wild sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) growing along Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts — one and the same species, selected once for leaf and once for root. In Central Europe chard was for centuries the leaf vegetable, and only lost that place to spinach in the 19th century. The old German name “Beißkohl” survives regionally to this day; in Switzerland it is called “Krautstiel”.

Varieties

Stalk chard, also called ribbed chard, forms broad fleshy stems and effectively gives you two vegetables in one; cutting chard has thin stems and finer foliage, is cut like spinach and re-grows faster in return. White-stemmed varieties such as “Lucullus” are the most productive and stand longest; the coloured mixtures with yellow, orange and red stems are chiefly decorative and grow a little more slowly. Chard is sold almost entirely as open-pollinated seed, though saving your own is laborious because it flowers only in its second year.

Care

The “seed” is a cluster of several seeds, so it always comes up in tufts — thin rigorously to 25 cm or you get nothing but stems and hardly any leaf. As a moderate feeder it is carried through the whole summer by one dressing of mature compost in spring. Water evenly, otherwise the stems turn woody and stringy. Break yellowing outer leaves right out at regular intervals so the plant keeps driving into the heart; under a cover of leaves or brushwood chard overwinters in mild areas and gives an early cut in March before it bolts in its second year.

What can go wrong

The typical attacker is the beet leaf miner, whose larvae mine blistered, pale brown tunnels between the leaf surfaces. Take affected leaves off as you walk the bed and lay fine-mesh netting over the young plants, and it stays a cosmetic matter. In warm, humid summers Cercospora leaf spots appear as well — round grey-brown spots with a red-brown rim. Against those, space more widely, water at the base, remove affected foliage and keep chard, beetroot and spinach three years apart.

Harvest, storage & kitchen

Cut the leaves off at the base with a knife rather than tearing them — tearing easily pulls the heart out with them. Separate stems and leaf and cook them separately; the stems need about five minutes longer. Fresh chard keeps only two or three days; the leaf part can be blanched and frozen like spinach, but the stems go mushy. Red and yellow stems lose their colour in cooking — if you want to see it, shave them raw or steam them only briefly.

Frequently asked questions

When can I harvest Swiss chard?

From mid-June through to early November, and continuously at that. Allow roughly eight to ten weeks from sowing to the first leaf of usable size; after that you take a few more leaves every week or two.

Is Swiss chard a perennial?

No, it is biennial and grown as an annual vegetable: leaf in the first year, flowers and seed in the second. In mild areas it comes through winter under a layer of leaves, but soon sends up its flower stalk, and the leaves turn bitter quickly at that point.

When do you sow Swiss chard?

Direct into the bed from 10 April to the end of June, about 2.5 cm deep. Soak the seed in water overnight first and it comes up more evenly. A May sowing usually carries you through summer and autumn; sow in June and you harvest later and smaller.

Will Swiss chard grow in a container?

Yes, if the pot is big enough: about ten litres per plant and at least 30 cm deep. In the bed, allow 25 cm within the row and 35 cm between rows — any tighter and the leaves stay small.