Grow super swiss chard

I think Mother Nature is very creative when she paints the stalks of Swiss Chard in her cherry bright palette.  High in Vitamin K (the only vitamin produced within the body but not stored so 25% of it needs to come from our food) it contains over 700% of our RDA…discover how I grow mine!

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GROW SWISS CHARD IN 3 EASY STEPS...​

Tomatoes are very generous souls that like to share, as the more you pick, the more are there.  You find 2 types: determinate which are more bushy, grow about 1m tall and produce all their fruit at the same time and indeterminate tomatoes, which have vine habits, growing branches up to 6m long and produce continually until disease or frost kill them off.

1 - SOIL RECIPE:

As Swiss Chard grows & produces over a long period, it is important to prepare the soil well.  I dig in as much compost & well rotted manure as possible as well as add an organic pre-planting fertilizer (like Vita-Veg).

2 - HOW TO PLANT:

Swiss Chard is actually a cluster of  4-6 seeds like with Beetroot & it is easy to grow from seed. I plant my seeds about 20cm apart, 6cm deep and use a planting line to create nice straight rows.  To start, I plant about 8 – 12 plants & add successive plantings every 3 – 4 months.

*TIP: soak seeds overnight to speed up germination period which is 7 – 12 days.

3 - HARVEST:

Regular watering & high nitrogen fertilizer (like Vita-Green added every 3 – 4 weeks) will ensure quick growth & good leaf production. I harvest every 7 – 10 days by picking the outer leaves from a few different plants with a sharp downward twist, leaving 4-5 leaves on each plant.  I harvest leaves for 3 – 4 months until they flower & go to seed.

4 - HOW TO EAT:

I don’t let leaves grow for too long before harvesting as they turn bitter.  I like to use baby leaves in a salad & bigger ones in stir-fries, soups or as wraps to steam food.  Sometimes I chop young stems into a salad to add colour and crunch.  When stri-frying older leaves I chop stems out and cook first before slicing & adding leaves.

5 - SEED & COMPANION PLANTING:

I have discovered beautiful varieties of Swiss Chard that cheer up my garden like the delightful orange stemmed variety ‘Orange Fantasia‘, the lipstick red ‘Rhubarb‘ or my personal favorite, bright pink  ‘Magenta Sunset‘.  Swiss Chard is not bothered by many pests & provides green leaves almost year round (even through winter).  They are moderate feeders & grow well with most plants.

GO & GROW

Rainbow Spinach
Rainbow Spinach
Rainbow Spinach
Rainbow Spinach
Rainbow Spinach
Rainbow Spinach

Rainbow Spinach

R95.00
The 'Slab of Seed'  is our original invention, handmade from a special blend of organically enriched super-soil and infused with the finest Heirloom seed sourced from expert farmers from around the world. The slab itself will hold water 3x longer than the soil it is planted in, is easy to space and plant and the added soil pro-biotics improve the growth of the plant and the taste of the harvest. This Slab of Seed will grow you 3 delicious heirloom* spinach varieties: Canary Yellow - Magenta Pink - Rhubarb Red (*Heirloom seed is the purest & oldest seed on earth - read below why I chose these delicious varieties)
  • SPROUTS IN: 8 - 10 days
  • HARVEST IN: 8 - 12 weeks
  • PICK FOR: 12+ weeks
  • GROWS 'SOW' MUCH: 12 block slab - 1 block yields  = 4kg+ spinach
   
Pure Spinach
Pure Spinach
Pure Spinach
Pure Spinach
Pure Spinach
Pure Spinach

Pure Spinach

R59.00
The 'Slab of Seed'  is our original invention, handmade from a special blend of organically enriched super-soil and infused with the finest Heirloom seed sourced from expert farmers from around the world. The slab itself will hold water 3x longer than the soil it is planted in, is easy to space and plant and the added soil pro-biotics improve the growth of the plant and the taste of the harvest. This Slab of Seed will grow you a delicious heirloom* variety of spinach called Rhubarb Red (*Heirloom seed is the purest & oldest seed on earth - read below why I chose this delicious variety)
  • SPROUTS IN: 8 - 10 days
  • HARVEST IN: 10 - 12 weeks
  • PICK FOR: 12+ weeks
  • GROWS 'SOW' MUCH: 5 block slab - 1 block yields  = 4Kg+ spinach