Swiss Chard Stars in Edible Container Gardens

Posted by hpotterblog on June 29th, 2010in Charlotte Germane, Garden Planters, Gardening Products | No Comments

By Charlotte Germane, Editor, H. Potter Knowledge blog

Whether you want to grow healthy food or you’re on a color-in-the-garden kick, the rainbow possibilities of chard will make you happy. One of the glamour vegetables for edible container gardens, Swiss chard has it all—form, color and nutrients.

You can see how handsome it looks massed in the copper Grand Urn. Confession: I got carried away and the plants are a bit too close together, inhibiting your view of the glorious, multi-colored stems of ‘Bright Lights’.

Plant chard alone for simple drama or try these zingy container combinations. Swiss chard will grow about two feet tall.

All-edible container combinations:

• Chards ‘Orange Fantasia’, ‘Yellow Lights’ or ‘Bright Yellow’ have colorful stalks and ribs. Nasturtium ‘Alaska Mix’ has orange, yellow, cream and mahogany flowers with distinctively marbled green-and-white foliage, and grows 8 inches tall.
• Chards ‘Rhubarb’ or ‘Ruby’ have red stalks and ribs, and may bolt in high heat. Nasturtium ‘Empress of India’ is an heirloom with crimson, single flowers set against emerald leaves, a naturally compact habit, and grows 12 inches tall.

*In “Cooking from the Garden”, author Rosalind Creasy and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse agreed that the nasturtiums with the best flavor were ‘Alaska Mix’ and ‘Empress of India’.

Edible and non-edible container combinations:

• Chard ‘Fordhook Giant’ has white stalks and ribs. For an elegant look, plant it with trailing white petunias.
• Chards ‘Bright Lights’ or ‘Magenta Sunset’ are show-stoppers with the petunia cousin Calibrachoa Catwalk ‘Terra Sorta’ (cherry pink petals with orange-golden undertones).

How to plant chard

Place your container in full sun and fill it with rich potting soil. Plant chard starts 12 inches apart and allow 12 inches depth for roots.

Water well with a fine spray after planting and keep the soil consistently moist.

Add two inches of compost as mulch in the container, keeping the mulch away from the base of the starts.

Through the seasons

How to harvest and fertilize chard

Cut the outer leaves off the chard and use them raw or cooked. Chard is another “cut and come again” crop that grows new leaves throughout the season. Unlike other greens the bigger leaves are not necessarily tougher.

Swiss chard likes to have lots to eat and drink. Beef up the soil with nitrogen-rich organic fertilizers such as fish or soybean meal, and renew the compost mulch every two weeks. Water as often as needed to keep the soil moist.

If you have a searingly hot summer you might move the chard container to a partly shaded spot, or use shade cloth during the heat wave days.

With mild winters you may be able to keep on harvesting chard leaves for an entire year. Snow will knock out the chard—but you can plant again in the spring.

Watch a new video of this copper urn.

Read on for a great chard recipe from Patti Bess!