new at growing swiss chard

[mikesmomferrell]

I just planted some swiss chard seeds. Live in the St. Louis area. I've read they love the cool weather, if I cover them with hoops and cloth when it gets really extra cold weather, then come next spring, how long can I hope to harvest from the plants, and what happens come the hot July and August weather.

[gumbo2176]

Swiss Chard is fairly heat tolerant. It will last much longer in my garden than spinach and lettuces. I find it tastes similar to spinach, grows much larger and like spinach, you can harvest just the amount you need by taking individual leaves and leaving the plant to produce more.

It will not last into the summer for me, it just gets too hot and it will bolt in late May/ early June. They do overwinter here in New Orleans but seldom does our nightly temps. get below freezing.

[mikesmomferrell]

Thank you Gumbo for your reply. In St.Louis we get really cold in winter so know I will cover my chard. I quess I'll just have to see what happens come next summer here, as it gets super hot in July and Aug., so not sure if it will like it. I'm hoping to hear from someone in my area that has over-wintered it and see what they recommend.

[gixxerific]

Chard is pretty hardy I'm near St Louis and it has been grwoing non stop since the spring.

I don't think it will make it through the winter though, I could be wrong. I did have some volunteer this year so that was cool.

[GomoIsGardening]

Swiss Chard is fairly heat tolerant. It will last much longer in my garden than spinach and lettuces. I find it tastes similar to spinach, grows much larger and like spinach, you can harvest just the amount you need by taking individual leaves and leaving the plant to produce more.

It will not last into the summer for me, it just gets too hot and it will bolt in late May/ early June. They do overwinter here in New Orleans but seldom does our nightly temps. get below freezing.

I've never heard of over wintering Swiss Chard. It might work since it's a member of the beet family.
I grew up on it and it was grown because my mother couldn't grow enough beet greens or spinach to keep me happy all winter. When you harvest it's best to take the outside leaves. It handles heat fairly well. It doesn't bolt as fast as other greens and doesn't seem to get massively bitter.

I mainly grow Bright Lights so I can use them in the flower beds. Cut, young and tender from the outside in, fabulous taste with the added pretty factor.

Please let us know how the over wintering works. It's a great idea.

[mikesmomferrell]

I have grown lettuce in the fall, then come the hard cold winter I put up hoops, and a row cover...it doesn't grow alot , but then come Spring, it starts right up. So that is how and why I am going to try the swiss chard under hoops and row cover cloth, just to get it thru the very very cold part of winter. . I'll let you know how it does come next spring. Pray we don't have a horrendously cold winter as we had a stupid hot July

[gixxerific]

That may just work. Like I said I cut off all my plants at ground level and leave the roots in the soil for added organic substance.

The swiss chard was the same way cut off at the soil. This spring it came back.

Good luck.

[gumbo2176]

[quote="GomoIsGardening"]I've never heard of over wintering Swiss Chard.


For the past 2 years, my chard has survived the winter and continued into the late spring after being planted in the fall. However, it does bolt once the temps. get near 90, which for me is late May/ early June. I've not had much success with replanting chard in the spring for the summer garden. The heat in my yard is just too intense. In an earlier post, I mentioned that my yard was 108 degrees about 2:30 p.m. today and this is supposed to be after our "Dog Days of Summer".

[rainbowgardener]

In my Ohio location, I plant swiss chard seeds directly in the ground in March, well before our last frost date. The stuff sprouts readily, grows quickly and keeps going and going, until a really hard frost (the first few light frosts don't bother it). After that it dies back, but may come back from the roots in the spring. But the second year stuff does bolt, unlike the stuff planted in the spring. I love it though, easiest to grow, longest lasting, toughest stuff in my garden. Not prone to pests or diseases and even the groundhog doesn't bother it.

[Alfred]

Swiss Chard is also known as Silver beet which is what it is called in New Zealand. it is a relative of the beetroot, it will thrive well if poultry manure is worked into the soil,liquid blood and bone is also good.It will grow all year round here particularly in the upper North Ireland where it is relatively mild all year round,I have some already to pick at the moment!

[rainbowgardener]

it will thrive well if poultry manure is worked into the soil,liquid blood and bone is also good.

That is true, but the thing about swiss chard is that it will also thrive if you don't do any of that. I have huge swiss chard still going to town out there. I put a bit of compost down when I planted and I keep my beds mulched. Other than that, I haven't given it anything except some water to get through our drought.

[garden5]

Swiss chard is great. I grew it through many 90 degree days and it never bolted, it got eaten down....twice by the deer, but you'd never know it looking at it now. I'd say that you stand a great chance of overwintering it, but it will probably go to seen next year, though. Oh well.....more chard .