The reason I love growing Mangold is that it is easy to grow, it looks amazing and there so many recipies that it can apply to. Anything with greens can be made with mangold. Plus it can even self seeds itself for the next year, at least here in Andalucia.
In colder climates it may need seeding again after the frost, since the frost can deactivate the seeds in the ground. Wherever Mangold is grown in mature gardens, the path and the neighbours will have some growing very soon, just like that! FREE food! Mangold, or Swiss chard, originates from the Mediterranean region. Its an anciet vegetable, it has been cultivated since ancient times, with records of its use by the Greeks and Romans.
While closely related to beets, mangold was grown for its leafy greens like Spinach unlike common beet varieties, which also produce roots, such as the beet root. Chard is a wonderfully resilient plant with multiple culinary applications and therefore you can make it the main green in a productive garden. Any garden needs chard!
It’s a cut and come again plant, which means you can harvest from the same plant all season long as long as you take the outside leaves and let the middle continously produce new leaves. It thrives in hot and cold conditions and unlike Spinach doesn’t bolt easily, which gives you a very long window of harvest. And it grows well in containers too. Here’s a guide to growing mangold successfully, including soil requirements, planting, and companion planting strategies. So whether you have a garden, a terrace or a balcony, this should be your green of choice.
Soil and Nutrients
Mangold thrives in fertile, well-draining soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH (around 6.0–7.0). Alkaline is the type of soil which we have here in Andalucia. However if you are growing it in northern parts of Europe, such as the UK you will have a little more acidity in the soil. So you need to add fertilizer such as compost or kitchen scraps to the soil to make it a little more alkaline. If your soil is sandy or heavy clay, adding compost will also improve structure and fertility. Soil with a lot of clay is very very common and a gardeners plight, it is claggy and can be hard for the roots to get through, it also doesn’t leave a lot of air gaps and space for soil microbes. While the plant is sturdy and forgiving, a little bit of effort to create nutrient-rich soil, encourages lush leaf growth and healthy stems. Every little helps!
Planting & Seeds
For more advanced growers, who use companion planting techniques. Mangold benefits greatly from companion planting with nitrogen-fixing plants such as peas or beans, which enrich the soil and promote leafy growth, if you wish to do so. Herbs like dill or coriander can help deter pests, and deep-rooted plants such as carrots or beets won’t compete for space. So you can pack your vegetable beds full of suitable friends and make the most of a small spaces. This combination supports a balanced garden ecosystem and reduces the need for additional fertilisers.
Mangold seeds are comparatively large, about 4–5 mm, making them easy to handle and therefore you can sow directly into the soil about 2–3 cm apart, either in rows or scattered for a more natural layout. The reason for the size is that a seed is actually a cluster of seeds, capable of producing three seedlings. Thinning seedlings is optional and a matter of preference. Some say that spacing plants 20–30 cm apart allows leaves and stems to grow larger and improves air circulation, reducing disease risk others think its a fiddly nice to have.
Although you can harvest the outside leaves for a long time and keep the same plant going in the middle You coud also use a technique called succession planting. Mangold is suitable for succession sowing (sow new seeds every 30 days), allowing a continuous harvest over several months. Baby leaves appear in around 30 days, while mature leaves are ready in 60 days. This gives you a steady supply throughout the year.
General Care
- Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.
- Composting can only help and make the plant lush and green.
- As always, mulching (covering the soil with straw or wood chips) helps retain moisture and suppress weeds in garden beds.
- Harvest outer leaves first to allow inner leaves to continue growing. This way, repeated harvests are possible throughout the season 🙂
- Regular succession sowing ensures a steady supply of fresh greens. So keep seeding every other week.
Growing in Warm Climates
In warmer regions, mangold can be grown all year round, acting as a self-seeding perennial during mild winters. Partial shade is essential to prevent leaf scorching in hot summers. Mangold is biennial, usually flowering in its second year if overwintered, so you might try and keep a couple of plants at the end of the summer and see how it goes. You never know, you may be able to produce your own seeds in the second year. Seeds can be collected when flower stalks mature and dry at the end of the summer. And as already meantioned in mature gardens, without too much seed destroying frost, mangold often spreads naturally, rewilding itself truly a blessing for gardeners and homesteaders once established.
Growing in Cold Climates
However, if you are in colder climates, then sow seeds indoors 4–6 weeks before the last expected frost (February/March) to produce early seedlings. Transplant carefully! .. seedlings break easily and the whole work is for nothing if you break them plus you create opportunity cost of the vegetable that you won’t get. I broke too many to count and its very unsatisfactory. Once the frost risk has passed transplat into prepared soil (not only clay, fluff it up with softer materials and not too acidic use a bit of compost). Mulching (covering the top soil with straw or similar) protects roots and preserves soil warmth. You can harvest until the first hard frost, which will kill the plant but leaves may survive light snow or frost if well-mulched for some time longer. Seed saving is more challenging in cold climates because the plant produces seeds in its second year, so overwintering (in a greenhouse or under heavy mulch) is necessary if you want to do that. There are some great benefits to seed saving, you may want to give it a try but don’t get too upset if it doesn’t work out, that is quite normal in cold climates.
You will probably have to buy your seeds. Seeds buying and saving is a whole new exciting topic to get into because there is more to seeds than meets the eye. But just for now, as you probably want to get started with your chard, make sure the seeds you buy are labeled as organic, open pollinated, airloom seeds. As far as I am aware, these type of quality seeds are not available in the garden centres near you, but if they are, then it is a welcome surprise. These seeds are usually sold online by specialist seed sellers or swapped between gardeners.
