key growing information

Growing Baby Leaf Swiss Chard From Seed

How to grow Swiss chard for baby leaf: soil and pH, sowing depth and density, succession planting, preventing leaf spot, and cutting for regrowth.

By Hensley’s Seed Co. September 3, 2026

Baby Leaf Swiss Chard - Key Growing Information

'Charbell' Swiss chard, an excellent variety for baby leaf production.

SCIENTIFIC NAME:

Beta vulgaris

CULTURE:

Chard does best in light or loamy soil with a pH above 6.0. It can be sown all season, though it grows best in cool, mild weather. DAYS TO MATURITY: Counted from emergence of direct-sown seed.

DIRECT SEEDING:

From mid-spring through late summer (or into fall in mild-winter areas), plant 1/4–1/2" deep at 2–4 seeds per inch, in rows 2" or more apart.

AVG. DIRECT SEEDING RATE:

About 4,000 seeds per 100'; 1 oz. sows roughly 45'.

SUCCESSION PLANTING:

Plant about every two weeks for a steady harvest, stopping about 4 weeks before the first hard frost.

INSECT PESTS & DISEASE:

Crop rotation helps prevent Cercospora leaf spot along with other diseases and pests.

HARVEST:

Use a knife to cut leaves once they reach about 3–6", roughly an inch above the soil and above the basal plate so plants regrow cleanly. The next cutting is usually ready in 5–14 days, depending on variety.

DECORTICATED SEEDS:

Decorticated seed has been mechanically rubbed to knock off its rough, corky ridges, so it flows smoothly through precision seeders.

SIZED SEEDS:

Sized seed has been graded to a uniform size, which gives more precise spacing in mechanical seeders and a more even stand. Our chard seed is sized unless the product description says otherwise.

SEEDS/LB.:

23,700–48,500 (average 30,900).PACKET: 200 seeds per packet, enough for about 5–6'.