Growing Chard from Sowing to Harvest

It’s easy to be charmed by chard - it looks stunning, is very easy to grow and is one of the most versatile vegetables in kitchen.

Chard leaves make an excellent spinach substitute while the stems can be cooked just like asparagus, so you essentially get two delicious crops for the effort of one.

In this short video we’ll show you where and how to sow chard, the best way to care for it and, of course, how to enjoy it!

If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
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[JavaMama]

Another option for the stems of the chard is to slice thinly and dehydrate for winter use in soups, stews and other dishes. I often dehydrate the chard stems, tomato peels (from canning tomatoes), onion, peppers and garlic. Then grind them all up into a coarse powder for seasoning. It's great!

[unstoppablezone]

I grow Chard on my balcony in Taipei...provides lots and lots of delicious salads or steamed. BTW, my name is Chard! :)

[ellatv]

The simplicity of your lifestyle is something I really admire

[mburger]

One tip that I recently learned from my Dad, is the control of leaf miners, an insect larvae that likes to burrow between the layers of the chard leaves. They leave patches on the leaves, that are almost see through and kind of brown. If you see any of these patches, remove any damaged leaves (or just part of the leaf) and discard (but not in the compost). Then keep an eye out on the backsides of the chard leaves for clusters of tiny white eggs. If you see any of these egg clusters you can just rub them off with your fingers. If the leaf miners really get a good hold in your garden, they can make a mess of your chard.
Thanks for the great video!

[nicktube]

Great video, , , I have some seeds coming on.
TIP: at the end of the season let one of the spinach or chard plants bolt to seed. Stake it if necessary to keep it in place... All the seeds will drop around the mother plant and you will get a whole bunch of seedlings growing at slightly different rates that you can lift & replant in a more appropriate setting... they are the crop that will establish by autumn and overwinter ok, however they will grow fast in spring when weather warms, and being early will bolt, but will give a much needed early crop.

[sofievanherle]

I also grow mine in pots, and when I'm ready to plant them outside, I put the pots in water for several hours, so they are very well soaked, and then in stead of thinning the seedlings out where several have sprouted from the same seed and discarding them (usually two or three come up from each seed), I just separate very gently them and plant them all apart. Thisonly works when the soil is very wet, hence the soaking.
My favourite recipes are:
Omelet with onion, chard and bacon
Pasta with chard, bacon, pine nuts and chili
Chard with béchamel sauce
In all recipes I thinly slice the stems and start cooking (boiling, steaming or frying) them a few minutes before I add the chopped leaves. They add some crunchy texture to the dish.

[marylouleeman]

Thank you. What joy!! a childhood favorite.

[minternet]

This incredible type of plant managed to live through the WINTER in south of Sweden! No cover or anything, I found it this spring among it's dead friends and beside came hundreds of little babies 😀 So now we can eat from this plant again and very early! 😀😀👍👍💗💗

[andersonomo]

Chard leaves make a very tasty spanakopita, especially if you have some mint to add in. Quick, easy, healthy - and even good warmed up the next day. Can't wait for my chard to get big enough!

[nancytabor]

Trying chard first time. Thanks for your encouragement.

[zelphiaellerson]

I was stuck without celery and onions one weekend and had some chard from a neighbor. The stems were a great substitute for onions in a tuna salad and yummy to dip in salsa and dip. They are on my 2017 list!!!!

[ChezGra]

We eat chard in so many ways! Love the stalks lightly steamed then put in an oven safe pot covered with a bechamel sauce and grated cheese. Leave it until the top looks golden and enjoy! Also make swiss chard pie (called Pascualina where I live). Also eat them as empanada filling or in omellets. Stalks are also good if you dust them in flour first, then egg, then bread crumbs and fry them for a minute or so.

[Laura_B__]

Thanks for this video! I have grown chard for the past few years and I absolutely love it. It grows prolifically against the north side of my house where it is in the shade during the hottest part of the day. In fact, I grow many greens in this shady spot and they all do very well. I have more greens than I can eat from May to October (even later for the Siberian kale, which continues to grow through light frosts) - and I still eat greens every day.

For Swiss Chard, I don't separate the stalks and leaves. I just chop it all up, sautee it in butter for a minute, then put the lid on the pan and let it steam for a few minutes with the water that was on the leaves from washing. I top it with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and this is a favourite side dish for my lunch each day. Cooking it all together means that the greens are completely wilted and soft, but I like it like that and I believe it is healthy to cook greens well as it denatures the oxalic acid, which can be difficult for our bodies to process.

[nancywells]

I want to try to grow chard in my garden. Thank you for the video. i didn't know that the Chard stems are edible too, and come in different colors. That is so cool!

[alexsmith]

i just let them seed and do their thing and now i have them growing everywhere without having to do a thing, also if you leave the dry stalks alone they sprout new leaves after a while, i never pull any out as they grow again from the root stock.

[aleli]

Beautiful Chard! Just harvested my first chards. I am about to cook a chick pea and chard soup for my family. To many more to come! Thank you for the lovely video. Blessings and peace to you all!!🙏

[TKTpets]

My tip is using the big leaves as a wrap for gluten free wraps. You can put anything inside like hard boiled eggs, variety of lunch meat & tuna or chicken salad. Yum and very low carb. Enjoyed reading all the tips. We moved to Florida and I had to plant a new garden, so now im having a hard time being patient for them to grow. 😂

[Onniesprairiegarden]

I'll be growing this for the first time this fall! Thank you for this wonderful video! That chard looks amazing with that egg!!!! I'll definitely have to try that!

[ivormectin.]

Just planted some in 2019 April 1st... Can't wait. Thank you.

[davemoss]

i have been enjoying generous crops of chard leaves from last years plants that have overwintered without any problem.
south of scotland.