Fresh spinach leaves are so tasty and healthy. They can be harvested regularly while young and used in salads, or left to mature for cooking. Chard leaves are also delicious, with the bonus that they are pretty in the garden or even flower beds with their vivid stems.  

Both spinach and chard are grown in very similar ways. Both prefer a sunny or slightly shaded location in moist but rich, well draining soil. Prepare the garden beds by working the soil, cleaning out any debris and adding compost and a higher nitrogen fertilizer. Blood meal, feather meal and fish meal are all a good choice.  

Spinach is either sown outside in the spring and harvested late spring to early summer, or sown in late summer and harvested in fall.  

Chard should be sown mainly in springtime, directly in the soil or use transplants if you get a late start. Chard will give you a regular crop of attractive leaves during the summer months.  

Sow seed early to mid-spring (depending on your zone). Make a furrow or indentation in the soil 1/2" deep and sow seeds. For chard, 3 inches apart and spinach 1 inch apart. Cover over the seed with soil and water thoroughly. Keep soil moist through sprouting and growing.  

Chard is ready to harvest at about 12 weeks and spinach is ready about 30 days.  

Keep harvesting spinach to prolong the harvest. Young leaves of spinach and chard taste the best. Give the plants a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer like soluble fish powder 12-1-1 every couple of week to keep them green and productive.