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Publication #HS676

Swiss Chard — Beta vulgaris L. (Cicla group)1

James M. Stephens2

Swiss chard belongs to the goosefoot family: Chenopodiaceae. Also known as chard, leaf beet, or spinach beet, Swiss chard lacks the fleshy root of the garden beet. Its large, glossy, dark green leaves are borne on white, fleshy leafstalks. Chard is commonly found in gardens throughout Florida both as a winter vegetable, since it is a cool season crop, and as a summer cooking green, since it also tolerates heat very well.

Swiss chard. 

CULTURE

Chard may be seeded directly in the garden or transplanted from a seedbed or from one point in the row to another. Plants are spaced about 6-12 inches apart.

Most gardeners find chard easy to grow. Some even grow it as a border plant around buildings, because of its attractive foliage. In plots where beet tops were almost destroyed by chewing insects, chard was only lightly attacked. However, root-knot nematodes often are a problem.

USE

The succulent, glossy, dark green leaves, which are usually slightly crinkled or savoyed, are eaten as cooking greens. Sometimes, the fleshy white leaf midribs are separated from the leaf blade and prepared much like celery or asparagus. Chard is ready to eat 50-60 days from seeding.

Favorite varieties are `Lucullus' and `Fordhook Giant,' which are green-leaved, and `Rhubarb,' which has red leaves.

Footnotes

1.

This document is HS676, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date May 1994. Reviewed March 2009. Visit the EDIS Web sSite at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

James M. Stephens, Professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.