Growing guide

Best time to plant silverbeet in Australia

Beta vulgaris

Also called chard, Swiss chard, silver beet, perpetual spinach, spinach beet

Silverbeet is a leafy green that shares a species with beetroot, grown for its leaves rather than a root. Blades are green or reddish and stalks mostly red, yellow or white; in Swiss chard types those stalks grow big and are often cooked separately. Cooks have used it for centuries.

On a shared plot: suits a plot

Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.

When to sow

ZoneJFMAMJJASOND
CoolMatches local guidesSowSowSowSowNoNoNoNoSowSowSowSow
TemperateMatches local guidesSowSowSowSowSowNoNoNoSowSowSowSow
SubtropicalMatches local guidesSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSow
TropicalBroadly matches local guides, with some differencesNoNoSowSowSowSowSowSowSowNoNoNo
AridMatches local guidesNoNoSowSowSowSowSowSowSowSowNoNo

Good months to sow

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Growing details

How to start
Sow directly or raise seedlings
Sowing depth
2cm
Plant spacing
20cm
Row spacing
30cm
Height
35cm
Germination
About 14 days
Time to harvest
55 days from sowing
Frost
Semi-hardy, protect from hard frost
Sun
Full sun
Life cycle
biennial

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Further reading on this plant