How to Grow Swiss Chard in Containers

Pour about 1 inch of gravel into the bottom of the container and fill the container to the top with potting soil.

Fill the cup with about 3 inches of warm water and place the seeds you will sow into the water to soak. Allow the seeds to soak for about 15 minutes to soften the outer seed coat before planting. Remove the seeds after the time elapses.

Plant two seeds about 1 inch apart, spacing the pairs of seeds about 8 inches apart in the container -- four seeds planted altogether. You will thin the seeds later. Cover the seeds with 1/2 inch of soil.

Water the potting soil thoroughly after planting the seeds and then place the container in a location that receives full sun.

Keep the soil evenly moist by watering the chard every day or every other day.

Thin the weakest of the seedling pairs when they grow to a height of about 3 inches. Pull the two weaker seedlings straight up from the soil and discard them.

Mix vegetable fertilizer with water according to package instructions and pour it over the soil carefully about one month after planting the seeds.

Harvest outer chard leaves when they reach at least 6 to 8 inches in length. Cut the leaves from the plant near the base with a sharp knife. Continue harvesting leaves as you need them or cut the entire plant down at soil level to use them all at one time.