Sowing Chard Seeds

Hi,

I'm going to try to grow chard this year outside (South West England), it didn't go very well last year as they either got eaten by slugs or had stunted growth.

Would you recommend sowing in plugs first for stability, then planting out? I have never had any success from ground sowing them.

Also when would you sow seeds indoors in plugs / outdoors?

Thanks!

 

When I've grown it I sow seed in plugs sometime in March and give them a tiny amount of warmth.
As soon as they're up I leave them on staging in the unheated greenhouse where they grow very slowly.
By around late April they're sturdy little plants and can be planted out.
Some slug damage always happens.

I had one plant that kept going for several years!

 

Agree with above,
Chard withstands pruning by removal of outer leaves when old/damaged. Have renovated a row with a swap hook, to good effect. Do not damage the centrepoint. They often run to seed if a hot period occurs. They can also be sown in July/august to crop into winter, and if protected with tunnel cloches, often crop again in Feb/march, 'hungry gap' !
They are frost hardy to -7 deg C., green varieties seem more resistant than coloured.

 

I start 95% of my veg in modules, slugs are always too much of an issue and it's the easiest way to get healthy plants off to a good start

Not the biggest fan of chard but I always grow some from April, plus it's bolt resistant compared to spinach

 

I start them off in modules as well about 8 weeks before the last frost. I tend to sow a little every month or so until September as we eat alot of it. Slugs always cause issues with the first sowing but when everything else is growing strongly it's less of a problem. This year we discovered muntjac love it.
We use the outer leaves and let the crown grow. If it goes to seed it's also worth leaving as you often get plenty of plants you can dig up and pot on. I have half a greenhouse full of seedlings from volunteer chard at the moment.

 

Goes well with rich game casseroles, stews and wilted on to fried egg with bacon as a breakfast treat!