Chard
Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla · Swiss chard in the US
In a typical UK garden, sow indoors early March to early April, sow outside late March to late August, plant out early April to mid-May, and harvest early June to early April.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Sow indoors
- early March to early April
- Sow outdoors
- late March to late August
- Plant out
- early April to mid-May
- Harvest
- early June to early April
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 30 cm apart, rows 45 cm apart
- Square foot
- 4 per square (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- 2 cm
- Ready in
- 50 to 60 days from sowing
- Grows to
- 50 cm
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -8 °C
- Sun
- Copes with some shade
- Crops for
- About 26 weeks
Growing tip
Pick the outer leaves regularly and the plant will keep cropping from summer into winter.
Neighbours
Grows well with
Leafy greens are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works
More leafy greens
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For chard, we used:
Grow chard with VegLog
Add chard to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
