Growing Swiss Chard from Seed

Swiss Chard (for me) is kind of like Basil.  It's easy to grow and you can trim of few leaves at a time or chop off the entire thing to use at once.  
I prefer to trim off a few leaves.

My favorites:

5 Color Silverbeet Swiss Chard

50-60 days. (Beta vulgaris) This chard originated in Australia. A beautiful chard; its colors are brilliant (pink, yellow, orange, red and white).
Very mild ornamental. Pretty enough to plant in the flower garden
and so delicious! 

Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard

60 days. Succulent celery-like stalks support large, dark green, 

very savoyed, fleshy leaves.
Trim outer leaves or cut the entire head. 
Great for salads, casseroles or sauteed.

Vulcan Swiss Chard

60 days.  Very attractive and uniform red chard. 

A wonderful, prolific and hardy variety, this chard has great flavor
 and is perfect for marketing.
Trim outer leaves or cut the entire head.
Great for salads, casseroles or sauteed.

First, each Swiss Chard seed may actually contain several seeds.  It's difficult to tell until they actually sprout.  Chard can be grown both as an ornamental and a food source.  It grows well in containers as well as in-ground.  

Swiss chard grows best in rich, moist soil with a soil pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Plant in fertile soil because plants should grow fast to produce tender leaves. Work nitrogen-rich amendments such as blood meal, cottonseed meal, or composted manure into the ground before planting.

I don't soak chard seeds for 24 hours (like I do most seeds) but I do soak them for about 15 minutes before I plant them in Peat Pellets.  With my garden at the moment in a bit of transition I find it easier to transplant Swiss Chard seedlings.  If you plan to direct-sow, sow seeds 1/2-inch deep and a few inches apart directly in the garden when the soil is at least 50°F.
 

Chard in Peat Pellets

If you plan to harvest whole plants, make succession plantings through late summer.  The time from planting to harvest is 55 to 65 days. Start harvesting chard when the outside leaves are three inches long or let them grow to 8-10 inches.

Mulch your plants with compost and/or grass clippings to add nutrients and discourage weeds, and use a natural fertilizer such as kelp or manure tea (a must for container growing). Provide moderate, even watering.  

I have had very little pest problems with Swiss Chard.  Occasionally I get a slug or snail but with Companion planting a bit of kelp meal the grow huge!  Swiss chard is a hardy, leafy green.  

Container with Chard, Beets and Lettuce

 Sharing this gardening tutorial at Tuesdays with a Twist , The HomeAcre Hop and HERE