RHS Growing Guides
How to grow chard
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Chard.
Getting Started
Chard produces a plentiful supply of leaves, and has great ornamental appeal too
Chard is easy to grow from seed. Sow outdoors in spring or early summer for repeated harvests through summer into autumn, then sow a second batch in mid-summer that will overwinter outdoors and provide early harvests the following spring. For baby leaves to use in salads, you can sow small batches regularly and harvest young leaves repeatedly.
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Choosing
Chard varieties offer an array of stem colours to brighten up your veg plot
For easy and reliable varieties, look for those with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in our trials – see our list of AGM fruit and veg (135kB pdf) and Recommended Varieties below. Also, for more veg-growing inspiration, visit the RHS gardens, which all grow a wide range of leafy crops such as chard.
What and where to buy
You can buy chard seeds in garden centres and from online suppliers. They may also sell young chard plants in modules in spring and early summer, ready for planting outdoors.
Recommended Varieties
Popular variety, produces a rainbow of red, yellow and orange stems and large glossy leaves with a mild, sweet flavour.
Very ornamental variety with bright red stalks and dark green, deeply puckered leaves with red veins.
Preparing the Ground
Chard grows best in rich, moisture-retentive, free-draining soil. Prepare the ground ahead of sowing or planting by removing any weeds and forking in lots of home-made garden compost to improve drainage and enrich the soil. Alternatively, if you're practising no-dig, mulch the soil ahead of sowing or planting directly into the mulch.
Sowing
Chard seeds are large and easy to sow. They can be sown outdoors from early spring to mid-summer, or can also be sown in modules indoors to produce an early crop.
Sowing indoors
For an early start, more reliable germination or to protect seedlings from slugs and snails, sow indoors from early spring onwards, into modular trays filled with peat-free seed compost. Sow one or two seeds per module (later thinning to one if necessary), cover with 2.5cm (1in) of compost, then water well.
Once the young chard plants are well rooted and at least 5cm (2in) tall, transplant them outdoors – see Planting, below.
Sowing outdoors
A spring sowing of chard will provide repeated harvests right through the summer
Two sowings – one in April and the second in July – are usually sufficient. The July sowing provides leaves the following spring when growth resumes. Alternatively, for regular pickings of baby leaves for salads, sow small batches every few weeks from March to August. For more sowing tips, see our guides below.
Sowing outdoors in containers
Chard can be grown in large containers, at least 40cm (16in) wide and deep, filled with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Sow from April through to July, spacing the seeds 10cm (4in) apart, then cover with about 2.5cm (1in) of compost. Water thoroughly but gently to avoid dislodging the seeds. Place the container in a warm, sunny spot and water regularly. Thin out the seedlings to 30cm (1ft) apart, or 5cm (2in) apart for baby salad leaves. For more container-growing tips, see our guides below.
Planting
Young chard plants grown from seed indoors or bought as young plants in modules can be planted outside when at least 5cm (2in) tall. Gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions first by hardening off. Choose a sunny planting site, perhaps with light shade in summer, and prepare the ground in advance (see above).
Gently remove the young chard plants one at a time from their modular tray, without disturbing the roots, and plant them 30cm (1ft) apart, or 5cm (2in) apart for cut-and-come-again salad leaves. Water them in well and protect from slugs and snails.
Planting in a container is a similar process – choose a large container at least 40cm (16in) wide and deep, and fill with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Use the spacings given above, and keep the young plants well watered.
Plant Care
Keep young chard plants weed free, to reduce competition for light, water and nutrients
Watering
Mulching
To help hold moisture in the soil and suppress weeds, spread a thick layer of mulch, such as garden compost, around chard plants once they are growing well. Leave a gap around the base of each plant, to ensure the stems don’t rot.
Mulching is not practical or necessary for chard grown as a cut-and-come-again salad crop.
Feeding
Chard doesn’t usually need feeding – it should grow well in most soils or in fresh potting compost.
Weeding
Weed regularly to reduce competition for water and nutrients – this is particularly important while plants are young, when weeds could easily overwhelm them. Dense weeds can also provide hiding places for slugs and snails, and reduce air circulation, which can encourage fungal diseases such as grey mould.
Bolting
In hot weather, chard plants may bolt (start to flower). Cut off any flower stems that start to form, and plants should continue to produce tasty leaves for a while longer. Flowering is inevitable though, and once it gets under way in earnest, chard plants will no longer be productive, so it’s usually time to remove and compost them.
If you don't need the space for another crop, you may prefer to leave bolting chard in place as it can be very ornamental, especially those with coloured stems.
Winter protection
Chard is hardy, so will survive winter outdoors without protection, but will stop producing new leaves once temperatures drop. If you protect plants with cloches over winter, they may produce a few leaves in mild spells, and will sprout into growth faster in spring, providing valuable early pickings.
Plants growing in containers can be taken into a greenhouse over winter, and may give you some light harvests.
Harvesting
Harvest the outer leaves with their entire stalk, cutting them right at the base
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When taking a few leaves from each plant along the row, pick only the outer leaves, cutting them cleanly at the base of the stalk with secateurs or scissors. Keep several central leaves in place to grow and provide the next harvest a few weeks later. Take regular light pickings whenever plants have plenty of leaves
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You can take all the leaves from more established plants (at least 20cm/8in tall) if you prefer, as they have a sturdy root that will resprout a new set of replacement leaves. Allow longer between pickings with this method, and cut the leaves at least 5cm (2in) above the base to ensure regrowth. Plants should provide several harvests across the season
Young chard leaves, up to about 5cm (2in) long, can be used raw in salads, adding a dash of colour. Larger leaves can be steamed like spinach or added to stir-fries, stews and pasta sauces. They reduce in volume during cooking, so be sure to pick enough. The thick stems have a crunchy celery-like texture when raw, or can be lightly steamed, taking slightly longer to cook than the leaves.
Harvest the leaves of young chard for salads, taking just one or two from each plant
Problems
Once established, chard plants are generally robust and produce a plentiful and reliable crop. However, you may need to protect seedlings from slugs and snails, especially in damp weather, and from birds. Leaf miners can cause cosmetic damage to foliage, but affected leaves can just be removed. In damp weather or overcrowded conditions, fungal diseases may affect the leaves, so space plants widely. For more on these and other issues, see Common problems, below.
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