Growing Organic Vegetables: Growing Silverbeet

Latest Update 3rd April 2020

Silverbeet (Swiss Chard)

Six sowings a year of 4 plants are enough to provide 2 people with a regular supply of fresh delicious leaves and stalks all year round.
We shred a few of the leaves and chop their stalks before steaming them with sea salt, ground pepper, mixed herbs and a little nutmeg. We also use them in mixed vegetable soups.
Grown organically silverbeet is very nutritious containing lots of vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of dietary fibre.
It can be grown all year, but needs extra protection from the sun in summer.

Details.

Nutrition.

This food is very low in cholesterol.
It is a good source of thiamin, folate, phosphorus and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), vitamin K, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese.
More from nutrition data.self.com.

This blogpage explains how I maintain healthy plants. It describes how soil is prepared prior to planting, how to regulate the sun's intensity and how to help protect and feed plants through their leaves.

This blogpage tells you when to make compost and plan other garden/household related activities.

Growing Instructions.

Multisow silverbeet seeds in organic seed raising soil in a mini pot. Soak the mini pot in a tray containing 15mm of dilute seaweed extract for 15 minutes; bury it up to its rim in an EcoPropagator.
Whenthe seedlings produce their first set of true leaves, select the 4 strongest seedlings and transplant them individually into 4 small fibre pots in sieved compost. Soak the pots and and return them to the propagator.
When they are ready, plant the seedlings in their fibre pots into prepared soil in an Ecobed. Plant them 375mm apart in a single row.

Clear small patches of mulch to provide access for a planting hole in the soil. Fill each space with fresh homemade compost and, using a large dibber to make the hole. Bury the fibre pots up to their rims in the compost.
Water them in well with captured rainwater, and return the mulch to cover any exposed soil as soon as the seedlings are established.

Harvesting and Storage

Silverbeet is best harvested continuously a few leaves at a time as soon as the plants are big enough.
You can store some of your crop in a freezer. Simply wash the leaves and shred them. Dry off the surplus water and season them with salt, pepper and your favourite herbs. Blanch them for 2 minutes in a steamer and allow them to cool.
Drain off any surplus liquid and pack them in a freezer in plastic zip tie bags.

Organic Pest Control.

Silverbeets, like most vegetables, are vulnerable to attack from certain pests in my garden. My blog on "Controlling Garden Pests" explains a little about these pests and what to do to protect plants from them. For details click on the appropriate link below.

Growing Organic Vegetables