Chard Seeds

Swiss chard is a handsome dual-purpose leafy green, prized for its glossy, deeply crinkled leaves and crisp, brightly coloured stalks. The flavour is mild and earthy, milder than spinach, and the plant is as ornamental as it is edible. Tender baby leaves go raw into salads, while mature leaves and the colourful midribs are excellent sauteed, braised, or stirred into stews and pies, giving you two vegetables in one.

Planting

Direct-sow in two windows in Egypt: an autumn/winter crop from mid-September to mid-November, and a spring crop in late March through April. Cover seed with about 1.3 cm of fine soil, or up to 2.5 cm in light sandy ground. Sow seeds roughly 5 cm apart in rows 30-45 cm apart. Seed germinates across a soil temperature of 5-38 C, ideally near 30 C, emerging in about 3-10 days. Thin seedlings to about 10 cm once they reach 5 cm tall, or 20-30 cm apart for full-size plants.

Fertilizing

Chard has a high nutrient demand. Work decomposed manure or compost and granular superphosphate into the bed before planting. After each cut, side-dress with nitrogen (ammonium sulfate) and potassium sulfate in split doses to replenish the plant between repeated harvests.

Care

Give 6-8 hours of direct sun, though chard tolerates partial shade of 4-6 hours. Keep soil uniformly moist, watering deeply during dry spells and especially while seeds germinate. Watch for bolting, Cercospora leaf spot, leafminer, and root-knot nematodes; chard is rarely troubled in Egyptian fields. Harvest from 50-70 days by snipping outer leaves about 5 cm above the crown, and the plant regrows roughly every three weeks.