Where is swiss chard grown

Adult flies lay eggs in leaves that hatch out into larvae that feed within the leaf tissue, creating visible winding tunnels. The best way to avoid damage is to cover beds with row cover fabric as soon as they are seeded to prevent egg-laying.

Leaf Spot. Cercospora leaf spot is a fungal disease that can infect chard, as well as beets and spinach, causing brown or gray spots with reddish margins. To help reduce problems with this disease, rotate the location of susceptible crops in the garden on a 2-year cycle; clean up plant debris well at the end of the season to get rid of infected residues; make sure to thin plants to ensure good air circulation; and keep leaves dry by using drip irrigation or watering plants overhead in early morning so leaves dry quickly.

You can begin harvesting plants when their leaves are about 6 inches long, usually about 6 weeks after planting. You can also let plants grow to their mature size feet tall and harvest the entire plant. It is also referred to simply as chard. The name chard is reputed to have come from either the French word for cardoon, a different vegetable that resembles an artichoke plant, or from the Latin word cardus , for thistle.

To add to the confusion, chard has acquired a variety of other common names. Chard is a biennial plant, meaning it has a two year life cycle, but it is cultivated as an annual in the vegetable garden and harvested in its first season of growth. Once it begins to flower and set seed in its second year, its leaves turn bitter and unpalatable.

Both the leaves and stalks of chard are edible. Young leaves may be eaten raw in salads, while older leaves and stalks are generally served cooked. Cover seeds with soil and water well. Sow in rows 40cm apart. You can sow chard from March to September. Water well after thinning. Keep an eye out for pests, but apart from watering, this is an easy vegetable to look after. Swiss chard can be grown successfully in containers and even in among your flower borders, where it will complement the hot colours of late summer flowers.

Young chard leaves are delicious eaten fresh and you can use early thinnings for salads. The fully-formed leaves will be ready to harvest about weeks after sowing, but late summer sowings may take a little longer. Cut individual leaves as you need them and the plant will keep producing new growth.

Check out this advice on harvesting Swiss chard, carrots and beetroot. Swiss chard is best eaten soon after picking. However, leaves can be blanched and frozen for later use in soups. See some of the tasty recipes using Swiss chard , from our friends at Olive Magazine. Avoid growing chard with legumes, potatoes, or tomatoes. Chard pests. Aphids and leaf miners will attack chard. Control aphids by pinching out the affected leaves or hose them away with a blast of water.

Leaf miners feed on the inside of leaf surfaces. Remove leaves with significant leaf miner damage and look underneath leaves for a row of pearl-white eggs; destroy them. Chard harvest. Chard will be ready for harvest in 55 to 60 days from sowing. Pick outside leaves as early as three inches long but before leaves grow to10 inches long. Older leaves will have an earthy flavor. Harvest chard on a cut-and-come-again schedule; remove a few outside leaves at a time.

If you harvest the whole plant, cut it back to about 3 inches 7cm above the soil and it will grow back. Chare that overwinters can be harvested again the second year. Storing and reserving chard. Chard will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Remove the stem and chard will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Chard varieties. Red chard: Rainbow 60 days ; Ruby Red 55 days ; Vulcan 60 days. Light green chard: Giant Lucullus 50 days ; Lucullus 50 days. More tips: Chard Seed Starting Tips. Your email address will not be published. Post Comment.