Chard, generally referred to as Swiss chard, is a leafy inexperienced that sports activities vibrant stem colours, together with white, yellow, orange, and crimson. It’s stunning in any vegetable backyard and even in flower beds. Chard thrives in cool climate however can take the warmth with sufficient water.
There are various crops you may plant close by. This colourful veggie requires a number of daylight and moisture, making it an excellent companion to a number of crops. Chard is a beet selection that doesn’t develop roots, so maintain them away from beet kin to maintain pest populations down.
Let’s take a look at 15 companion crops you may develop with chard to maximise your gardening area and create a gorgeous and scrumptious backyard.
What Is Companion Planting?
Many gardeners plant one kind of plant in an area. Whereas it could appear to be a good suggestion, it may possibly trigger the soil to be stripped of vitamins and promote pest populations.
Companion planting is when a number of kinds of crops are grown in an area to allow them to profit one another. Pairing the fitting crops collectively can cut back pests and maintain the soil wholesome since totally different crops have particular nutrient necessities.
You should utilize companion planting in any backyard, but it surely’s particularly helpful in small areas the place you don’t have room to unfold out your crops. When you realize which crops can work collectively in the identical area, you may maintain crops nearer collectively in any restricted area.
Chard as Companion Vegetation
That is certainly one of my favourite crops to develop within the backyard due to its stunning colours and few issues. I hardly ever have pest points, and it’s forgiving after I’m forgetful about watering.
No two gardens are fairly the identical, so let’s take a look at among the advantages and issues you might have utilizing chard as a companion plant in your backyard.
Advantages
Chard prefers full solar within the spring and fall however welcomes partial shade in the summertime. Defend it from the extraordinary afternoon solar, and also you’ll harvest chard effectively into summer season. Since it may possibly tolerate some shade, you may develop taller crops subsequent to it to maximise your backyard area.
Chard leaves are fairly and make your average-looking vegetable backyard extra beautiful. You may even develop chard in a decorative flower mattress for some distinction towards your different crops. Search for varieties with crimson, yellow, or orange stalks for a pretty pop of colour.
You should utilize chard to shade smaller crops in the event you permit it to develop tall. Younger chard leaves are scrumptious, however they style nice at nearly any stage, so permitting them to mature and shade crops like radishes will provide help to avoid wasting area.
In the event you love spinach, but it surely bolts too early in your local weather, strive rising chard. It handles scorching temperatures higher than spinach and gained’t bolt.
Disadvantages
You might not take care of many pests in your chard, however they’re inclined to aphids, darkling and flea beetles, beet leafhoppers, snails, and slugs.
Snails and slugs can quickly multiply and do a whole lot of injury in a single day. As you develop chard for the leaves, monitor your crops for potential pest issues to get them below management immediately.
Chard does finest when grown in spring or fall since they like cool climate. They will tolerate a light-weight frost however probably gained’t make it via winter in chilly climates.
They’re biennial crops, so if you wish to save seeds, Maintain them in a container and transfer them indoors for winter, or cowl them to maintain them heat sufficient.
Companion Vegetation for Chard
Chard might be pleased with a whole lot of totally different crops. Let’s check out a few of its potential neighbors.
Beans
Beans are an amazing companion even after they’re not actively sharing an area with chard. Plant beans in your future chard area, and when the crops die, depart their roots within the floor to interrupt down.
Bean crops create nitrogen and launch it into the soil because the roots decompose, leaving you with improved soil. Pole beans can present chard some shade as early summer season temperatures heat up.
Bush beans are nice for interplanting as a result of they gained’t develop tall sufficient to shade out your chard. All these crops thrive in moist soil, so that they’re in good firm with one another.
Cabbage
Cabbage can take up a whole lot of room, however that isn’t unhealthy for chard. Giant cabbage leaves can maintain the duvet shaded from the solar, permitting the soil to remain moist for longer, which can assist chard and cabbage develop bigger.
Chard roots develop deeper than cabbage, so the basis programs gained’t should compete for water and vitamins in the event that they turn into slightly interwoven. In the event you permit chard leaves to get large enough, they can assist forged some shade on cabbage, which might be appreciated on scorching spring days.
Celery
Chard and celery are an agreeable pair. Celery is compact above floor because it grows vertically, and it’s pretty compact beneath the bottom as effectively as a consequence of its shallow root system. It gained’t get in your chard’s means and appreciates moist circumstances.
You may develop celery and chard throughout the identical time of yr. They each thrive in spring and fall, and the autumn climate will sweeten each crops because it will get cooler. It is a tremendous handy pairing in the event you’re trying to make gardening simpler.
Chamomile
Chamomile is a superb plant to maintain with chard due to its aphid-repelling talents. Its sturdy scent might be gratifying, but it surely makes it more durable for aphids to search out the crops they’re searching for, which can assist cut back the general inhabitants.
Relying in your local weather, chamomile could be higher suited as a container plant. It’s drought-tolerant as soon as it’s established, although it appreciates further water in extreme warmth in the summertime. In the event you dwell in a scorching and dry local weather, chamomile will probably be completely happy in the identical mattress as your chard.
Cilantro
Chard and cilantro work collectively effectively on the plate, simply as they do within the backyard. Cilantro pulls the load on this friendship by providing large benefits to the chard.
It attracts predatory helpful bugs like hoverflies and wasps that may eat many pests that go after chard whereas deterring flea beetles with its scent.
Cilantro likes about an inch of water every week, so it ought to be content material to develop alongside chard. Give each crops loads of sunshine and nitrogen, and guarantee sufficient room between them so that they don’t develop too carefully collectively.
Garlic
Garlic will match nearly anyplace because the bulbs don’t compete with chard roots. You might have spacing points with elephant garlic or different massive varieties, however you may also develop garlic in containers.
Chard and garlic each want moist soil and many daylight, so they’re straightforward to look after collectively. Garlic will enormously profit your chard crops relating to pest management.
Pests hate the scent of garlic and can keep removed from it. Permitting garlic to flower will appeal to many helpful bugs, together with hoverflies, bees, wasps, and butterflies.
Lavender
Lavender is believed to enhance the flavour of chard. However on a extra concrete word, Lavender doesn’t compete with chard for vitamins or water, to allow them to fortunately share the identical area with out making it tough for one another.
The attractive flowers you’ll probably develop lavender for will convey tons of pollinators to your backyard, a lot of them being predatory that may feast on aphids. Lavender may also repel flies, fleas, and larger pests like rabbits and deer.
Lettuce
Chard and lettuce aren’t associated however develop equally and work collectively effectively within the backyard. Each crops like loads of water and full solar within the cooler months. You may make them final into summer season by offering them shade with taller crops or shade fabric.
These two crops gained’t compete for area since they’ve shallow root programs. You need to depart some area between them to allow them to get sufficient daylight, however squeezing them right into a small area is feasible.
Marigolds
Marigolds are good companions to so many crops. They’ve a shallow root system and keep compact above floor, so that you don’t have to fret about them crowding out their neighbors.
Many individuals develop marigolds for his or her pest-controlling talents. They can be utilized as a lure crop for aphids and can deter root-knot nematodes. Nematodes aren’t an enormous subject for chard, but when they’re within the soil, they’ll assault nearly any roots accessible.
Mint
Mint will assist deter a number of pests, together with aphids, flea beetles, and rodents. The candy minty scent is pleasant to people, however pests hate it!
In the event you plant mint subsequent to chard, maintain it in a separate container close by. Mint has a shallow root system, but it surely spreads readily, kinds a thick mat, and chokes out different crops.
Mint went uncontrolled in my backyard, and I used to be stunned to see that it may possibly unfold underground—I had no concept how huge it had gotten till I began ripping it out.
Nasturtium
Nasturtium is one other attractive flower that may improve your vegetable backyard and can assist management pest populations. Aphids adore it, making it an excellent lure crop.
Plant it close to your chard, and also you’ll see extra aphids on the nasturtium than in your chard leaves. The brilliant tubular flowers appeal to many pollinators, helpful bugs, and predators.
It would host many aphids, and predatory bugs will gobble them up. You’ll wish to plant these far and wide.
Radishes
Radishes are straightforward to develop. These quick growers will scratch your itch for fast gratification and assist maintain aphids off your chard, too.
Aphids love radish leaves, so allow them to have them, after which you may take away the aphids out of your backyard when it’s time to reap the basis. You’ll get the very best root improvement with full solar, however radishes can tolerate shade if wanted.
In the event you primarily use them for aphid trapping, they will develop in full shade and develop extra greens as a substitute of a giant root. Since they don’t take up a lot area and may take care of some shade, they will snuggle proper as much as your chard with only a few issues.
Candy Alyssum
Chard doesn’t should be confined to the vegetable backyard; its vibrant stalks and ruffly leaves look stunning in a flower mattress. Pair them with the low-laying candy alyssum to create a stark distinction of colour and top.
Candy alyssum will act as a floor cowl to maintain weeds down. The numerous clusters of flowers it grows will appeal to hoverflies, which can eat aphids that bug your chard. This flower is an efficient one to maintain round within the vegetable backyard, too, in the event you do wish to harvest your chard to eat.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes and chard make nice companions, and so they’re two that you simply’re positive to see in my backyard annually. Within the spring, you may plant tomato seedlings and chard seeds within the floor concurrently. By the point tomatoes want more room, you may harvest your chard.
It’s also possible to use tomato crops to shade chard through the summer season. Plant tomatoes to the west of the chard, protecting the decrease branches trimmed.
It will permit the chard to obtain afternoon shade and have loads of room to develop leaves. Their root programs have totally different depths, so that they don’t compete for water an excessive amount of.
Turnips
If snails and slugs don’t depart your chard alone, turnips are a wonderful lure crop companion plant for chard. Enable these pests to eat up the leaves so you will get them out of your backyard if you harvest them, simply as you’ll with radishes and aphids.
Regardless that turnips could be fairly massive, they shouldn’t hinder your chard in the event you depart sufficient area between them.
One of the best technique could be to alternate rows of chard and turnips fairly than attempting to plant them shut collectively. Each crops like moisture and develop throughout the identical occasions of the yr, so that they’re straightforward to look after on the similar time.
Last Ideas
Chard is as scrumptious as it’s stunning. You may develop this plant with different greens or use it as a decorative plant in your flower mattress. Pair it with different cool-season crops in spring and fall, or give it some shade with taller crops in the summertime to make your harvest last more. Chard companion crops take pleasure in persistently moist soil, cool temperatures, and ample sunshine.