Swiss chard: seeds or seedlings?

Farmers can plant Swiss chard in one of two ways: direct seeding or seedling transplants. Bill Kerr explains the pros and cons of each approach, and advises how to get the plants off to a good start.

- Bill Kerr

Direct seeding Swiss chard offers a farmer a number of significant advantages: the seed itself is relatively cheap, you save on the cost of seedlings, and you can use the excess plants obtained after thinning to transpant elsewhere.

If you want to do any transplanting, allow the plants to get big enough (approximately 12cm tall) to handle the process. Trim the leaves with a pair of scissors before planting to obtain a balance between the root system and the foliage.

Each 'seed' is classed as a fruit that contains a few seeds, so thinning is usually required.

There are three main disadvantages of direct seeding: more labour is required for thinning and replanting, the crop occupies the land for longer before harvesting, and weed control is more difficult.  

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