Why You Should Add Swiss Chard to Your Garden and How to Use it Up

I love to grow Swiss chard in the garden. It is beautiful addition to any growing space. But when I first started growing Swiss chard, I ended up feeding a lot of it to my rabbits as I just wasn’t sure how to use it up. Come along and learn about why you should grow Swiss chard in your garden and use it up after harvest.

I love to use chard in breakfast skillets (like this one) or freeze with other leafy greens (like this). That’s all I used to know how to do with my Swiss chard.

Thankfully I have learned more about Swiss chard since then. There are so many reasons to have it in the garden and even more ways to use it in your home kitchen.

Why You Should Add Swiss Chard to Your Garden

It’s Beautiful – Like I said before, Swiss chard is lovely to have in the garden with its colorful stalks and big green leaves. It adds visual appeal to your space. Some people even use it only ornamentally.
It’s Pest Free – I love growing greens that the white cabbage moths don’t go after with a vengeance (like they do with my kale).
Heat Tolerant – Unlike most salad greens, Swiss chard can handle the mid summer heat and just keeps on giving. You can’t say the same for most lettuce.
Long Lasting – Because of it being heat tolerant, Swiss chard can be planted in the spring and just keep growing through the summer and into the fall. No repeated plantings needed.
It’s Good for You – We all know we need to eat our greens. Chard is among one of the most nutrient dense foods. It is high in Vitamin C, K, A, E, iron, protein, magnesium and calcium! Now we all need to be adding it to our eggs!

Swiss chard comes in beautiful shades of red.

Ways to Use up Swiss Chard Now that You Have Grown It

Now that I have learned more ways to use Swiss chard in my kitchen, I can grow even more and not feel guilty that I give so much of it to my rabbits (though that is still a good use for it)

My favorite way is to chop it up and sauté it in a breakfast skillet.
Chop it up and add it to a vegetable soup (like this Cheeseburger soup) or a stir-fry.
Fresh eating – add to salads or sandwiches after removing the stalk. The stalk can also be used in place of celery.
Dehydrate and turn into a powder to add to smoothies or baked goods. It can store for a long time.
Have a large abundance? Blanch in batches and make freezer pucks in a silicone muffin tin to be used throughout the winter in soups or skillets (like this).
Go ahead and feed it to those bunnies or chickens. Mine love it. Any livestock like pigs and cows would probably chow down on some fresh chard too.

Swiss chard is a green that will grow all summer long.

Tips for Growing

Swiss chard can be grown from seed or you can buy starts at the store. I usually like to grow the starts myself as it is much more economical. I start them indoors or in my winter seed sowing jugs.

Some of our favorite types to grow are these below:

Fordhook Giant – a big beautiful variety with a white stem. White stem varieties are generally a bit more productive and also more tolerant to cold and heat with bolting.
Sunset Chard – bright golden yellow stems with bold glossy green leaves that are such a fun pop in the garden.
Rhubarb Supreme – this is a deep red stemmed chard with vibrant green leaves.
Peppermint – I haven’t tried this variety yet, but it is the only two toned variety and looks so fun with its white stalks streaked with fuchsia.
Flamingo – I had to add this one also even though I haven’t tried it yet either. The bright pink is so pretty and it’s also on my list to try out soon.

I tend to shy away from the rainbow blends because they don’t seem to come up and be as strong for me. So instead I order a variety of colors in seeds and then I get my own rainbow effect. But try out the different varieties in your garden. Maybe the rainbow blends will be your favorite.