Swiss chard is a leafy vegetable from the Chenopodiaceae family, it is a biennial horticultural plant that is grown as an annual. It is an excellent cooked kitchen vegetable, rich in vitamins and iron, it is easily grown in the garden and harvested by cutting the leaves.
After sowing it in the spring, you can continue to harvest costas all year round, as the plant harvests continuously.
Cultivated bunches (beta vulgaris) are usually white-ribbed (also called silver-ribbed) with green leaves, but there are also red-ribbed varieties such as feurium beet (not to be confused with rhubarb which it resembles vaguely) and even the Yellow Coast. There are also so-called “grass” beets which have a fine rib and which are harvested by the leaf (cutting beets)
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Beets are close relatives of the beetroot, but they do not form the root at the base and only grow for the ribs and leaves.
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Planting ribbed beetroot in the garden
Weather . Beets are plants that do not like excesses, a temperate climate suits them very well, to avoid frost instead and if the summer is too hot, it is better to give them a little shade because they could suffer from the heat.
earth and manure . They are vegetables that grow in any soil, require a good presence of organic matter and fear stagnation of water. For fertilizing Swiss chard, normal background fertilization is suitable, as the green part of the plant is very rich in nitrogen.
Planting period. The costas are sown between March and August, they can be put in the ground because the seed is quite large and robust and it is an easy seed to germinate. It usually emerges after a week/ten days. If placed in nurseries, costa can be planted in February for transplanting in March (wait until plants are at least 10cm tall for transplanting.
how to sow . The sixth of the plantations on the coasts is 40/50 cm between the rows with plants spaced 25 cm apart. The seed is buried at a depth of 2 or 3 cm.
coastal farming
Cultivation operations. Like many garden plants, chard must be weeded, on the one hand it serves to eliminate weeds, on the other hand it oxygenates the soil and prevents it from forming a compact crust. It is possible to use the padding technique (with straw or fabric) to avoid having to do this operation.
Irrigation. Ribs require a good supply of water, constant watering is necessary for fleshy ribs and well-developed leaves. The criterion to follow is to try to water often and little, avoiding doing it in the hottest and sunniest hours.
pests and diseases . the ribs can be attacked by snails which devour the leaves, ruining their appearance. They are also afraid of mole cricket, moose, owls and mites. It is a culture that is not very susceptible to diseases, but cryptogamic diseases such as rot and rust can appear. In organic horticulture, only copper can be used.