leaf beet 'Swiss Chard'

leaf beet

• Position: full sun
• Soil: humus-rich, moisture retentive soil
  
  Widely considered to have the best flavour of all the leaf beets, Swiss Chard is a big, handsome plant with broad, pure white midribs. It's extremely reliable, producing a good crop even in drought conditions and withstanding winter weather well too. Makes an excellent cut-and-come-again crop: pick leaves from the outside to encourage fresh young growth. It can be grown all year round and a last sowing in late summer in greenhouse borders or under cloches provides fresh greens all winter.
  
  
• Growing Instructions:In spring, make a drill 2cm deep and sow seeds about 20cm apart. Cover lightly with soil and water in. Seeds can produce multiple seedlings, so thin to leave one plant to mature at each spot. Leaf beet can also be grown in containers: sow direct into the compost allowing about four seeds to a 45cm pot.
  
  
• Sow: March-August
  
  
• Harvest: Mid-May onwards
  
  
• Approximate quantity: 250 seeds.