Greens & herbs
Swiss chard
On the cool calendar here; sown Feb and again Sep to Oct.
- Outside
- Direct Feb, again Sep to Oct
- Where
- Raised bed or in ground
- Sun
- Full sun; takes part shade
- Water
- Deep soak about weekly; finger test
- Harvest
- Apr to Jun, then Nov to Dec
Care
- Water
- A deep soak about weekly with the finger test settling it, steadier while fall seedlings root out; even moisture keeps the stalks crisp. Winter rain does the watering from December on, leaving a soak in a dry spell as the whole winter job.
- Sow
- Set the seed balls half an inch deep and thin twice, since every ball sprouts a cluster: February on the county's spring list in rows repeated every two weeks through April, then the fall round September into October. Finish thinning to 8 to 12 inches.
- Feed
- A hungry green: compost worked in before sowing, then a top-dress as a cutting run gets going. Nothing feeds through the July-August heat; the fall planting does its growing entirely on the cool side of the year.
- Ready
- Snap or cut outer stalks at the base and the crown rebuilds for months; a plant too big for the kitchen shears to a stub and refills inside two weeks. The spring rounds cut into early summer, the fall planting cuts into winter, and midsummer fades it out.
- Trouble
- The honest note is the calendar: the state sheet calls chard summer spinach, but the nickname describes the tolerance while the county's calendar describes the practice. A stand still cutting into July fades, so let it go and start the September round instead.
In a bag?
- Yes
- Up to a 3–5 gal bag.
- Water
- Every day or two in a warm fall or spring spell, tapering with the winter rains; a checked bag plant turns stringy before a bed plant ever wilts.
- Feed
- Top-dress monthly through a cutting run; every watering leaches the bag.
- Sow
- One plant per bag. The Texas container guide lists chard at 1 to 2 gallons, so a 3 to 5 gallon bag is the generous version of the sourced minimum.
Swiss chard runs fall to spring here: sown in February and again in September, cutting through the winter greens season and fading honestly in midsummer.
Growing
Up north chard is the summer-unbothered green, the spinach that shrugs at July; here the county schedules it cool, on the February list and the September-October rounds. The state sheet's summer-spinach nickname describes what the beet family tolerates; the county calendar describes what actually gets grown, and the sowings follow the calendar. Sow the spring round in February and repeat short rows every two weeks through April with the beans and greens, cutting into early summer before the worst heat fades the stand. The fall planting is the keeper: it cuts through the winter greens season in ground that never freezes and hands the summer slot to malabar without a fight.
Varieties
The Central Texas list names Bright Lights, Fordhook and Rhubarb Red: white, rainbow and red-stemmed between them, and any of the three is the right packet.
In the kitchen
Two vegetables on one plant: leaves that wilt like spinach and stems that want two extra minutes in the pan, which is the difference between liking chard and tolerating it. The winter stalks braise alongside the collards and mustard pots.