Chard

Beta vulgaris var. cicla

Chard has big leaves on thick white, red or yellow stalks. You pick it from summer until the cold stops it and again in spring. One sowing keeps giving for months. It is also slower than spinach to run to seed, which makes it one of the easiest leafy crops.

Looking after it

Water: Normal watering is enough. Water young plants regularly until they are settled. After that, chard copes with short dry spells, but water it in long ones. In a pot, water whenever the compost starts to dry. Feeding: Little food is needed and usually no feeding at all. It grows well in most soils and in fresh potting compost.

Harvest and keeping

Cut the outer leaves with their stalks at the base and leave the centre to keep growing. Small young leaves can go raw into salads. Cook bigger ones like spinach, giving the stalks a little longer. The leaves keep a few days in the fridge. To freeze them, blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes, cool them in iced water and pack them.

What can go wrong

Leaf miner. Pale brown blotches show where small grubs tunnel inside the leaf. Pick off the affected leaves and put them in the bin. Fine insect mesh keeps the fly off.
Slugs and snails. Holes appear in young plants, mostly in damp weather. Pick the slugs and snails off at dusk and protect the seedlings.
Downy mildew. On crowded plants in damp weather, pale patches appear with grey fuzz underneath. Space the plants well and pick off the affected leaves.

Growing facts: RHS, UC ANR and seed-company sowing guides. Chard care: RHS. How many to grow: Kansas State and University of Missouri extension. pH: Washington State University extension. Freezing: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia).