When to sow chard

Sow chard outdoors from mid-April, once the soil has warmed a little, until July. Don't rush the first sowing: seedlings that sit through cold spells are more likely to bolt later.

For an earlier start, sow in modules indoors in March or early April and plant out after the worst frosts.

A second sowing in midsummer, up to about mid-August, gives young plants that stand through winter. Between a spring and a summer sowing you can pick chard for most of the year.

What looks like one chard seed is a cluster of several, just like beetroot, so a single 'seed' often sends up two or three seedlings. Sow the clusters 0.4–1 in deep and about 4 in apart in rows, then thin to one strong seedling per spot.

Final spacing depends on the type. Leaf chard needs about 10 in in the row and 12 in between rows; stem chard with broad ribs wants 12 in and 16 in. For baby leaves you can leave plants just 2 in apart.

In a 120 × 80 cm raised bed that means three rows of four leaf chard, 12 plants, or two rows of four stem chard, 8 plants.

Chard likes deep, rich soil that holds moisture. Work in plenty of compost before sowing.

Chard is a medium feeder with a big thirst. Water young plants regularly until they are established, and keep watering in dry spells so the leaves stay tender. A thick mulch around, but not touching, the stems keeps the soil moist and weeds down.

Rich soil usually needs no extra feed. If growth stalls in summer, a general organic fertiliser gets it going again.

Hot, dry weather can make chard run to seed. Cut off flower stalks as soon as they appear, and if a plant keeps bolting, pull it and let a younger one take over.

The first leaves are ready about eight to twelve weeks after sowing; spring sowings usually from late June. Pick the outer leaves once they are about 8 in tall, cutting cleanly at the base of the stalk, and leave the heart to keep growing. Leaf chard can also be cut whole about 2–3 in above the soil and will regrow.

Young leaves up to about 2 in long are good raw in salads; bigger ones are for cooking. Chard doesn't keep, so pick it shortly before you use it, or blanch and freeze it.

Chard is hardy and usually survives the winter outdoors. In cold areas, earth up the plants a little and cover them with straw or brushwood. Even if frost kills the big leaves, the heart sends up new ones in spring. Chard is biennial, so it flowers in its second year: keep picking until the flower stalks appear, then clear the plants.

Leaf chard (also called cutting chard or perpetual spinach) has narrow stalks and lots of leaf. It is used like spinach, can be cut again and again, and fits more plants into a bed.

Stem chard has broad, fleshy ribs in white, yellow, pink or red, which you cook separately like a vegetable in their own right. Coloured varieties such as 'Bright Lights' or 'Rhubarb Chard' are as ornamental as they are useful; 'Fordhook Giant' and 'White Silver' are classic white-stemmed types.

Slugs and snails go for seedlings and young plants; birds sometimes peck at them too. Protect young rows and check after rain.

Beet leaf miner larvae tunnel inside the leaves and leave pale blotches that turn brown. The fly has two or three generations between April and September, and early damage hurts most. Pick off or squeeze mined leaves, or grow young plants under fine insect mesh.

Downy mildew and grey mould appear in damp weather and crowded rows. Give plants room, water the soil rather than the leaves, and remove affected leaves.

Chard belongs to the amaranth family together with beetroot and spinach. Leave at least three, better four years before any of them grows in the same bed again.

Mixed-planting tables pair chard with beans, cabbages, carrots or radishes. We found no solid evidence for any of these pairings; they are tradition, and harmless.

The one rule with a real reason is rotation: keep chard away from beds that grew beetroot or spinach in recent years, because they share pests and diseases.