Where can I buy Swiss chard seeds? What are the seedling-raising methods?
In everyday life, there are quite a lot of varieties of vegetables. I wonder if you like eating Swiss chard? It is a very common type of leafy vegetable. In some places it is called thick-skinned chard, and most farmer friends grow it. So where are Swiss chard seeds generally sold? What are the seedling-raising methods? If you want to know, read on below!
1. Where can I buy Swiss chard seeds?
Swiss chard is mainly distributed along the Yangtze River basin and areas to its south, and it is also cultivated in provinces such as Hebei, Henan and Shandong. Swiss chard seeds can be bought in vegetable markets all over the country. Although Swiss chard seeds can also be bought online, it is still best to choose formal channels, such as your local vegetable market or a large seed seller, so that both quality and after-sales service are guaranteed.
2. What are the seedling-raising methods for Swiss chard?
1. Land preparation
As with other vegetables, before planting, the land must first be cleared of debris and then plowed. Leave it to bake in the sun for two or three days, then break the clods of soil into smaller pieces to prepare for sowing.
2. Seed treatment
For farm-grown Swiss chard, some people keep their own seeds, while others buy seeds when they need them. Before sowing, the seeds are generally dried in the sun a little to increase their activity, and then sown. Swiss chard seeds have an outer shell, and the shell of sun-dried seeds is rather tough and a bit hard. It is best to soak the seeds in water before sowing, which can shorten the time to emergence and make the seedlings come up more evenly. The method is: soak the Swiss chard seeds in warm water at about 50 degrees for 20-30 minutes, then soak them in cold water for one day, take them out, drain off the water, and they can be sown.
3. Sowing and raising seedlings
The growth of Swiss chard requires relatively more nitrogen fertilizer and relatively less phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Using common farmyard manure can meet its growth needs. For the base fertilizer at sowing, you can put some decomposed chicken manure/duck manure as a base, then run through some decomposed dilute manure water to moisten the lower layer of soil. After that, evenly scatter the Swiss chard seeds and cover with about 2 cm, that is, a layer of soil the thickness of an index finger.
4. Transplanting
When the environment is suitable, Swiss chard grows very quickly after emergence. When it reaches about 15 cm tall, it can be transplanted. Swiss chard seedlings are very tender, so before transplanting, sprinkle water to moisten the seedbed soil, then pull up the seedlings. The plant and row spacing for transplanting is about 30 cm. After transplanting, if the local sun is strong, in addition to watering morning and evening to keep it moist, you should also put up shade netting to reduce wilting, so that Swiss chard will take root more steadily and quickly.
3. Key points for growing Swiss chard
1. To improve the emergence rate, try not to use old seeds that have been stored for a long time for sowing Swiss chard. If you still sow seeds stored for a long time, remember to dry them in the sun first to increase seed activity, then soak the seeds before sowing.
2. Swiss chard grows in a relatively warm environment. Regardless of whether the seeds were soaked beforehand, after sowing, if the soil is very dry, it should be watered to moisten it so that it sprouts and emerges easily. In dry, sunny weather, it is necessary to spread some rice straw on the seedbed before emergence.
3. Swiss chard is easy to grow and manage, and generally does not require deliberate pest control. The main concern is poor soil drainage and excessive water accumulation, so ditches should be dug in the vegetable plot for drainage. If drainage is not good enough, dig the small drainage ditches between the ridges deeper.
4. In some warmer southern regions of our country, Swiss chard can also be grown in winter. Winter weather changes greatly, and sometimes it stays cold for a long period, with temperatures possibly at a few degrees, which is not good for the growth of Swiss chard. What we can do is hill up the soil in advance, which can raise the ground temperature and reduce the impact of cold weather on the growth of Swiss chard.
Alright, that is all the content the editor wants to share with you. If you want to buy Swiss chard seeds, it is best to buy them at a formal vegetable market or a specialty seed shop. The editor has also shared in detail some seedling-raising methods and key points for growing Swiss chard, hoping to be of help to all friends.
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