DibbleGrowing Swiss chard: from seed to harvest
Sow chard once the soil is workable and no longer cold. Pick the outer leaves and it keeps producing for many months. It shrugs off heat better than spinach or lettuce.
Planting dates for Swiss chard by zone
| Zone | Start seeds indoors | Sow or transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | not needed | April 19 | June 11 |
| Zone 4 | not needed | April 11 | June 3 |
| Zone 5 | not needed | April 4 | May 26 |
| Zone 6 | not needed | March 24 | May 19 |
| Zone 7 | not needed | March 3 | April 21 |
| Zone 8 | not needed | January 8 | February 25 |
| Zone 9 | not needed | July 20 | February 25 |
| Zone 10 | not needed | January 1 | February 25 |
| Zone 11 | not needed | August 13 | February 25 |
Each date is the start of the best window from the same climate engine the Dibble app uses, run at typical places in each zone. Dibble tunes them to your garden's own location and lets you adjust frost dates for your own yard.
Companion plants
Good neighbors for Swiss Chard:
Family and rotation
Swiss Chard is in the amaranths family. Beets and chard/spinach. Rotate from the leaf/root slot. Learn about crop rotation.
Related crops
Spinach
When to plantBeet
When to plantTomato
When to plantPepper
When to plantPotato
When to plantOnion
When to plant
Questions
When should I plant Swiss chard?
It depends on your zone. Swiss Chard is a half-hardy crop, so the timing follows your last spring frost. Look up your zone in the table below for exact start, sow, and harvest dates, or open Dibble and set where your garden is to get your own calendar.
How long does it take to grow Swiss chard?
About 55 days from sowing to the first harvest, with a picking window of roughly 120 days after that.
What grows well with Swiss chard?
Good companions include Bean (bush), Onion.
Plant at the right time this season
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