Swiss Chard

Question

hello, just read one of your articles on swiss chard – I did not know it was from the beet family – does this mean that I should not plant swiss chard where I planted beets last season – or in the same area of the garden I planted swiss chard last season ? I rotate my gardening – ie – this season the plants will be planted in the walk ways and the walk ways will be where I planted last season – my simple rotation method due to the size of the plot – – I also rotate in the 3 raised beds I have also – – one raised bed was all swiss chard planted in a diamond or square foot style – – thank you – [e-mail] – today is labor day, sept 5

Answer 1

You are correct: if you rotate vegetables in your garden, it is best to consider swiss chard and beet to be similar plants and not plant them in the same space two seasons in a row. This is because they will remove similar balances of nutrients from the soil and are susceptible to many of the same diseases.

In fact, many gardeners include all members of a plant family as a group and simply rotate the groups. For example, you could have a bean/legume family plot, a tomato/nightshade family plot, and a cabbage/cole family plot, and rotate the locations of the three plots yearly.

These articles explain more:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/rotating-vegetables.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/different-vegetable-families.htm