We grow it as a winter crop.

Chard grows very well here in Central Florida. Plant in October and harvest till April. It is a very easy veggie to grow and has very few pests. We like all of the varieties.

There's a farm here in Brooksville and they grow chard, kale, collards, all of it and it's big and beautiful. They don't use pesticides either.

I grew two varieties last Spring and in to early Summer...Ford Hook Giant and Lucullus. The Fordhook took off but the Lucullus never grew. I recently ordered Brite Lites seeds just for fun. I'll be planting mine in September. Go for it! :)

Tina

Did you forget that you saw at the house when we had the garden party? All chard does well for me, the only thing is that it likes it cold otherwise it gets buggy and not so crispy.

Here it is at the right side

{{gwi:34862}}

And a close up

Silvia

Tina,

Adding my 2 cents to the fray, chard does very well in Central Fla's zone 9 as a winter greens type crop. I plant it in September to augment my hydroponic lettuce for salads.

Lou

Chard does great here. I have some that has been growing all summer in the shade. The baby leaves are good. With all the recent rain they are struggling. They look nice in a front ornamental garden.

Dianne

Return your Yankee gardening book to the north country.
Florida GW experienced gardeners know more than any book!

:) Thank you all! I probably just started it too soon. Sylvia there was so much awsome stuff in your garden I couldn't possibly remember it all. BTW I also bought some flowering kale and lettuce seeds from Ed Hume. I hope to have my garden looking EPCOT!

You'd better build yourself a giant glass bubble if you want it to look like EPCOT.