Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Inspiration

How to grow Swiss chard in your kitchen

Rebecca Wolken
By

The leaves of a Swiss chard plant are fabulously beautiful with their dark green color and brightly colored center veins. Not only are they pretty, but they’re incredibly good for you as well! Those of us with limited growing space do have to make hard choices about what we can grow, but Swiss chard is a great option for those of us looking to grow produce that’s both nutritious and beautiful.

rainbow swiss chard

Swiss chard care

Before we get into how you can grow delicious Swiss chard right in your kitchen, let’s first go over the things a Swiss chard plant needs to grow. This will help you eliminate spaces in your home where it won’t thrive and select a location and care routine to allow these colorful greens to flourish.

One of the most essential aspects of Swiss chard care is the amount of sunlight they need. This plant needs almost full sun all day long, and providing direct sunlight to an indoor plant all day can be difficult. That’s why we suggest placing it in the sunniest place in your home and supplementing shady hours with a grow light. While some grow lights aren’t too aesthetically pleasing, there are a few that can double as decor while still aiding your plant. If you don’t have a spot in your home with full sun, you can use a grow light as the plant’s sole light source, just be sure to put the plant under the grow light for at least six hours a day.

Related

Swiss chard prefers its soil to be a bit on the acidic side of the pH scale. When you’re preparing your pot, be sure to mix in a balanced fertilizer so the plant will have plenty of nutrients. You’ll also want the soil to be well-draining; the plant roots might rot if the soil doesn’t drain well enough, and all those yummy leaves will be dead before you can enjoy them.

Although Swiss chard doesn’t need a deep container, since its roots don’t grow deep, it still needs plenty of space, so be sure to choose a container that’s at least 12 inches wide. Only one plant should be grown in a 12 inch pot. A 5 gallon bucket is a great option, but be sure you drill drainage holes into the bottom of it.

Once your Swiss chard is fully established, water when the soil dries out most of the way. You don’t have to worry about reapplying fertilizer unless you see signs of stress or lack of food from the plant.

growing swiss chard indoors

How to plant Swiss chard indoors

Before you get all your supplies out, you’ll want to bring out your Swiss chard seeds and soak them in water for 24 hours before you plant them. This speeds up the germination process and will increase the likelihood of a successful planting. Once they’ve been soaking for 24 hours, you can get everything else ready.

Take your growing container and fill it with the well-draining soil you’ve chosen. Then, add the balanced fertilizer. Use a sieve or fine strainer and gather your soaked seeds. Plant the seeds half an inch deep, and don’t be afraid to put two in one spot, just in case one doesn’t germinate. Wet the soil enough so that it’s damp, but water isn’t running out the bottom.

Place the now-planted containers in their designated spot and set up your grow light station if needed. After about five days, you should start seeing little sprouts poking out of the soil. Wait a few weeks and see if you have more than one plant per hole. If you do, you can select the smaller plant and cut it at the soil to ensure the bigger plant has plenty of resources.

Once the plant is big and mature, you can begin to harvest the outer leaves as it grows. Leave the inner leaves to keep growing and maturing, and you’ll have fresh Swiss chard in your kitchen all season long!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Do you live in climate zone 10? Here’s our guide to choosing the perfect climate zone 10 plants
What you need to know about caring for climate zone 10 plants
Stacey Nguyen
By Stacey Nguyen
December 28, 2022
Tomatillo plant

One part of the country that many gardeners envy is climate zone 10, a warm sanctuary for a variety of plants, thanks to its very long growing seasons and mild winters. Made up of the southernmost parts of the country, this region has a climate that's ideal for multiple rounds of harvests. While it has specific challenges with blisteringly hot summers, it’s an overall welcoming environment for plant life. Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about zone 10 and all the plants that you can grow in it.

Where is climate zone 10?
Before we get into the specifics of climate zone 10, let’s talk about the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. When shopping for plants, you may see labels indicating a zone range — that basically tells you where the plant will be hardy for more than just one growing season. Essentially, the United States Department of Agriculture has divided the country into 13 regions, or climate zones, based on annual minimum temperature ranges. Zone 1 faces the coldest winters, while zone 13 usually has the warmest ones. Bearing this in mind, inhabitants of zone 10 will often experience warmer winters.

Read more
What to do with an old Christmas tree: 6 ways to recycle your tree after the holidays
From making firewood to mulch, here are ways to recycle Christmas trees
Rebecca Wolken
By Rebecca Wolken
December 27, 2022
Ornament on a Christmas tree

Once all the Christmas festivities are over, it's time to take down holiday decorations and figure out what you're going to do with that huge Christmas tree. Unfortunately, every year a massive amount of Christmas trees end up in landfills where they don't have the opportunity to decompose and break down like they naturally would in a forest. This isn't good for the planet, and you'd be wasting a potential resource you could use for something else.

So if you're curious about what to do with an old Christmas tree and how to get the most out of it, here are some ways you can recycle it so it becomes a gift that keeps on giving.

Read more
Trying to beat the cold? Here are our favorite frost-resistant plants for any climate
Here's how to protect your plants from the cold this winter
Cayla Leonard
By Cayla Leonard
December 7, 2022
Three types of heuchera growing outdoors

You spent all spring and summer tending to your garden. Now the weather is turning colder and the first heavy frosts are here. How can you help your flowers survive the winter? Keep reading to find out what plants can resist the cold and if and how to protect your plants from the freezing weather.

Which plants can survive a frost?
Evergreens are known for their ability to survive winter, but they aren’t the only cold-tolerant, frost-resistant plants out there! Leafy vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, kale, collards, and chard can tolerate some frost. Early spring blooming flowers like crocus, snowdrop, and primrose can all survive the winter, and pansies are especially resilient. Violas, hostas, heuchera, irises, lily of the valley, cyclamen, and phlox also tolerate frost and provide some visual interest, as do catmint, baptista, sedum, and peonies.

Read more