when to harvest swiss chard

Harvest Swiss chard when the leaves are tender and big enough to eat. Swiss chard is ready for picking 30 days after sowing if you want baby leaves. Harvest chard 45 to 60 days after sowing if you want full-sized leaves with a thick midrib.

How do you pick chard so it keeps growing?

The most common method for how to pick chard is to cut off the outer leaves 1 ½ to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm.) above the ground while they are young and tender (about 8 to 12 inches (20.5 to 30.5 cm.) long). Older leaves are often stripped off the plants and discarded to allow the young leaves to continue to grow.

Will Swiss chard grow back after cutting?

Chard is best treated as a “cut-and-come-again” crop. This harvesting technique involves taking only a few older leaves at a time from each plant, allowing younger leaves to continue growing for additional harvests later in the season.

When should I harvest chard?

Harvesting Swiss chard

The fully-formed leaves will be ready to harvest about 10-12 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.

How do you harvest Swiss chard without killing the plant?

Either cut or break a few stalks from each plant. This is more appropriate when you have less growing space available and want to harvest chard without killing it. The plant keeps growing and you can continue to pick it.

Which is healthier kale or Swiss chard?

As you can see in the chart above, kale does exceed the other greens in vitamins A and C, but Swiss chard has 16 percent more iron than kale. ... All four types of greens are also rich in many other nutrients, including manganese, folate, copper, choline, magnesium, potassium and vitamins E, K, B2 and B6.

Is Swiss chard a Superfood?

Swiss chard is a nutritional powerhouse -- an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and dietary fiber.

Can you eat chard raw?

Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw Swiss chard is less bitter than cooked. A bunch of raw Swiss chard will cook to a much smaller amount. ... Sauté, steam or cook the stalks in a pan with water (1/2 cup per bunch) first, then add the leaves and cook until wilted.

Does Swiss chard come back every year?

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.

Can Swiss chard get too big?

If you water them enough, Swiss chard can grow up to be two feet tall! If you harvest them when the leaves are smaller, they will keep producing more leaves like cut-and-come again salad greens.

Can I freeze Swiss chard without blanching?

Swiss chard will technically freeze just as easily without blanching, but the end result won't be as good. There is another way that blanching will help! ... Blanching doesn't take too long, but make sure you have your bowl of ice all set up so you can put the chard in the ice as soon as it's done in the hot water.

Is Chard a perennial?

Chop large leaves to cook down like spinach, or use in casseroles, soups, and pasta. In areas that never experience a hard freeze, Swiss chard sometimes behaves like a perennial, living for several years. When it blooms, you can cut off the bloom stalk and it will produce more leaves.

Does Swiss chard need full sun?

Swiss chard prefers rich, well-drained soil in full sun or light shade. In the North, sow from early spring to midsummer for a fall crop; in the South sow in fall to spring. Sow the seeds 1/2 inch deep in rows spaced 18 inches apart. Thin seedlings to 12 inches apart when they are large enough to handle.

Can you grow Swiss chard in a container?

Choosing a Container

Swiss chard doesn't have deep roots, so the container that you select doesn't need to be too deep. Eight inches should be plenty. ... A five-gallon container – per plant – is ideal. If you don't mind smaller leaves and stems you can grow two plants in a five-gallon pot.

How many times can you harvest Swiss chard?

Swiss chard can be continually harvested throughout the season. Harvest the outer leaves at the base of the stalk, leaving four to five inner leaves to continue growing. Swiss chard can also be harvested in closer plantings as baby greens, cutting the leaves about 3 inches above the soil and returning every week or so.

Can kale and chard be planted together?

Both kale (Brassica oleracea) and chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) are biennial cool-weather crops that grow well in pots all year round except for the hottest part of summer, but chard tolerates the heat better than kale. ... You can plant them together in a large planter or separate them into individual pots.

What is the number 1 healthiest food in the world?

The 11 Most Nutrient-Dense Foods on the Planet

Salmon. Not all fish is created equal. ...
Kale. Of all the healthy leafy greens, kale is the king. ...
Seaweed. The sea has more than just fish. ...
Garlic. Garlic really is an amazing ingredient. ...
Shellfish. Many sea animals are high in nutrients, but shellfish may be among the most nutritious of all. ...
Potatoes. ...
Liver. ...
Sardines.

How do you eat raw Swiss chard?

Swiss chard can be enjoyed raw in salads or on sandwiches or wraps, braised, boiled, sautéed or added to soups and casseroles. Here are some tips to incorporate more Swiss chard (leaves and stems) into the daily routine: Add a handful of fresh Swiss chard leaves to an omelet or scrambled eggs.

Which is healthier spinach or swiss chard?

Spinach comes out on top, compared to Swiss chard, in a number of nutritional components. Among them are calcium, with 1 cup of cooked spinach offering 24 percent DV compared to Swiss chard's 10 percent. ... Spinach also provides more riboflavin, zinc and manganese and a small amount of omega-3 fat.

Is Swiss chard healthier cooked or raw?

In its raw form, it is a good source of vitamin C. Note that the above values are for cooked Swiss chard. Like many leafy greens, Swiss chard shrinks drastically when cooked, so 1 cup of cooked Swiss chard will contain much more nutrition than 1 cup of raw Swiss chard.

Does Swiss chard get bitter?

Swiss chard leaves are low in calories and nutrient dense. While you can eat young, tender chard leaves raw in salads for the full nutritional benefit, they tend to have a bitter taste and are more often cooked in order to mellow out the bitterness and make them easier to digest.

How do you clean Swiss chard?

ANSWER: To clean your homegrown Swiss chard, you can either soak the leaves for a while before washing them or simply rinse under running water while washing the leaves well. To soak, fill a large bowl with cool water, or use the stopper of your sink to fill up the basin.