Puny beets & chard

[KayLR]

I'm having success with everything in my square foot garden this season so far---except for beets and chard. Beets have always been a challenge for me--usually they don't even germinate. At least they've all come up, but the tops are absolutely anemic-looking. Same with the chard. Puny size, somewhat shriveled leaves. The beets don't appear to have much in the way of root size.

Any ideas? I planted the seed in mid-late April. The beets are only up about 4-5 inches.

I live in the Pac NW, and we've had a warm, dry spring, having a rainy week now. This is the first time I've tried growing these two particular veggies in Mel's Mix.

[redfox]

Seeding earlier would have helped, especially starting them inside, and planting out in Feb. Both need rich, loose soil with lots of humus in it. And, regular watering. Both grow best in cool weather, so I recommend either top dressing with organic compost, watering with compost tea, or removing the puny plants, amending your beds organically with compost, Cedar Grove dug in deeply is good. You can then re-plant them in July, for a fall garden. If the bed fertility & humus seems good to you, you can leave them in to see how big they get. Be sure to amend the bed before planting your fall garden.

May I suggest Seattle Tilth's "Maritime Northwest Garden Guide" as an awesome gardening book?

http://seattletilth.org/get-involved/gardenstore

Good luck!

[KayLR]

Thanks for the tips and the recommendation, redfox!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I managed only to produce puny minature chard when growing it in a container. Sorry don't have advice, I personally just mostly concluded chard was not meant to be a container vegetable ... since it really NEVER got any bigger.

[Birdie]

I always soak my beet seeds overnight before planting. There is a growth inhibitor on the seeds, so they should be rinsed before planting. I plant beets in the fall in California. We plant in late August or early September so the plants have time to bulb before the weather gets cold.

I've never planted beets or chard in the spring so have no suggestions other than contacting your local Master gardener program to see if they have suggestions for your climate. My local planting chart shows beets Feb - April for a spring planting, Aug - mid Oct for fall. Chard Feb - mid June and late August - November. I wonder if you are planting too late in the spring for them and the weather is a little too warm?

The chart I use is the one the Master gardeners created for my specific area, so maybe your MG program has one for your area.