Need help with Swiss Chard

[Dace]

I have never grown it before and I know it is a cool season veggie. I have been told that here in So Cal I can keep a summer crop of lettuce going as long as it is shaded, will the same hold true for Swiss Chard?
I have a spot where it would get just a bit of sun throughout the summer but in the winter it would get none. So my dilemma is do I plant in mostly shade now, hope for the best and plan to re-plant in a sunnier location in the fall? I have a second spot which gets a good 2 hours of sun daily, would that be too much summer sun? Would that be enough winter sun?

Thanks

Dace

 

[Reinbeau]

I grow swiss chard every year, I plant it in the spring (this year I'm especially late, just planted it yesterday) and it lasts until the hard freeze. Frosts don't knock it back much, and during last year's mild winter I ate fresh-picked chard on January 9!

It does like it cool, but it needs sun. You may have to have multiple plantings. Thankfully it's a fast grower.

 

[Dace]

Reinbeau thanks for the response!
How much sun do you think it needs? I had read that it likes partial shade. I do have several different areas that I could plant it in. Our summers get pretty warm and I was thinking shade would be better and we could enjoy it all summer even though it is a cool season crop.
Maybe I should plant some in a pot so that I can move it to shadier spots when the heat hits?

 

[Reinbeau]

That's probably your best bet, plant it in a pot. I've had it in a shadier spot and it just isn't as full and succulent as it should be - it really needs the full sun. During the high heat of your summer noontime shade would be good, I guess.

 

[Tutter]

There are varieties which resist bolting better than others, which would be helpful in your area for the summer plantings.

 

[Dace]

I have Bright Lights seed...any idea if that is heat tolerant? The package says nothing about heat.

 

[Reinbeau]

That what's in my photo, it comes through the searing heat and drought we get every summer. Looks terrible while it's happening, but then it comes back strong to finish the season.

 

[scrapmom5]

I plant the white swiss chard every year. I put it in a slightly shaded area and it takes off. The funny things is that it also survives many of our winters which are pretty harsh. Two years in a row I was able to harvest swiss chard in Jan and Feb when it was 15 degrees outside. My mil was amazed since hers winter killed. The place I put them has a balcony above them so they don't get the 3 feet of snow that the rest of the garden seems to get. The only difficulty I have had with chard is the darn weevil. I can't get rid of them.

 

[Dace]

Thank you all for the input. I have never grown Swiss Chard before and I am excited to try something new!