Spinach and silverbeet are both very popular greens sold widely in many parts of the world, however, you may be wondering whether they are different names for the same plant. Are they actually different?
Spinach and silverbeet are distinctly different plants that come from separate and distinct families. Silverbeet, which has many different names such as perpetual spinach, chard, and Swiss chard to name a few, is closely related to beetroot and sugar beets whereas spinach is from the Amaranthaceae family.
Both plants are widely used as leafy greens with spinach most commonly sold in loose leaf form in the fresh produce section of the local supermarket whereas silverbeet tends to be sold more frequently in bunches as the stalks are relatively large and strong.
The distinctive stalks are also an easy way to tell the difference between spinach and silverbeet as they are generally brightly coloured, silvers, pinks, and reds. However, those varieties that don’t have silver stalks tend to be referred to as chard or rainbow chard.
In terms of flavor spinach generally has a more mild flavor and a texture that is softer than silverbeet. However, as both leafy greens have soft leathery green leaves they tend to be cooked rather than used fresh in most cases.
The Differences Between Silverbeet And Spinach
While both plants are leafy greens they do not closely resemble one another for several reasons. The first and most obvious difference is the sheer size of the leaves compared to each other. Spinach plants generally are relatively small plants that typically only reach a height of 4 to 6 inches depending upon the specific variety.
The leaves of the spinach plants tend to only be a few inches long whereas silverbeet leaves can easily reach 2 feet in length. The stalks of silverbeet plants can vary in shape and color but can be up to 2 inches wide at the base of the leaves and typically the stalk is visible all the way up through the leaves. There are often being relatively fine veins running through the relatively large leaves.
The other significant difference between the plants is the volume of leaves produced. Spinach plants generally yield only a handful of leaves at any one time whereas swiss chard can yield up to half a kilo in a single harvest from a single plant at the peak of the season. Additionally, the size of a silverbeet yield is also significantly larger because of the nature of the growth habit of the plant.
Silverbeet is a plant that will last for approximately 12 months in the garden before it runs to seed. During this period you can end up with several pounds of leaves through the course of the season whereas spinach plants have a relatively short season and are most suited to be grown in the cool conditions of spring and autumn. And in some cases they can even be grown in winter if the weather is relatively mild. When exposed to hot conditions spinach will quickly run to seed.
In terms of nutrition, spinach is considered to be slightly better than Swiss chard because it contains 60% more protein and around half the sugars of silverbeet along with high levels of vitamin A. Additionally, spinach is particularly suited to women because it has nearly double the level of calcium and folate which is suitable for those people trying to get pregnant.
The other significant advantage of spinach over silverbeet is it has very high levels of a range of amino acids and antioxidants. However, it is important to note that both leafy greens are still considered to be relatively healthy options.
Is It Worth Growing Silverbeet Or Spinach At Home
Both plants are well worthwhile growing at home because they will produce fresh green leaves which are far superior to what you can purchase from the grocery store. However, if I was purely selecting plants on the basis of output, silverbeet would definitely be one of the first plants I would put into the garden.
It is extremely easy to grow and as mentioned earlier in the article produces absolutely masses of leaves year round with very little work. Additionally, if you choose varieties that have colorful stalks they can also fit nicely into an ornamental garden as well.
How To Grow Spinach And Silverbeet
Spinach and silverbeet are relatively easy plants to grow, though silverbeet is more forgiving because it is both heat and cool tolerant whereas spinach will really not cope with high temperatures. If you are planning to grow either plant the best time to plant seeds is in late winter or early spring, however, at this time of year because the temperatures are typically still very cool it is best to plant into a seed tray.
However, in the case of spinach it is common for gardeners to also sow seeds in late summer to enable a second crop of spinach to be produced in autumn running into winter. However, this is not necessary as silverbeet plants will survive through the summer.
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To start seeds off start by filling a seed tray with good quality seed raising mix and then firm the mixture into the individual cells to form solid plugs which will make it easier to transplant the seedlings later on. Once the soil is in position it is best to plants to 3 seeds per cell in the seed tray at a depth of approximately half an inch. Typically, the seedlings will take 7 to 14 days to appear in the seed trays and will need to spend at least 4 to 6 weeks in the seed tray before they reach the point at which they are large enough to plant into the garden.
Ideally, the plants should reach a height of approximately 2 to 3 inches tall before they are transplanted out into the garden. At this point the weather should be starting to warm up.
As the plants are both leafy greens they can be planted in both semi shade and full sun locations, however, generally full sun locations will increase the rate of growth. But in the case of spinach it is sometimes advantageous to plant in shady conditions to slow down the rate that the plant bolts if you are moving into warmer weather.
To optimize the growth ideally the plants should be put into rich moist and free-draining soil with plenty of nutrients so in some cases it may be necessary to add an additional bag of compost.
The spacing of the plants varies between spinach and silverbeet. Spinach is a significantly smaller plant and therefore can be planted within 6 to 8 inches of each other whereas silverbeet should be planted 15 to 20 inches apart as the plants will get relatively large.
When putting the plants into the ground it is important to ensure that you protect them from slugs and snails as both are highly susceptible to attack early on. Generally, you will find that both plants take a little while to get going but silverbeet, in particular, will grow very quickly and get very large once it becomes established.
Harvesting Silverbeet And Spinach Plants
As both plants are leafy greens they can be harvested at any stage once the leaves reach the point where they are large enough to eat. Typically most people wait until the leaves are at least 3 to 4 inches long. Early on it is important to ensure that you do not pull all the leaves off particularly in the case of spinach which is a smaller plant.
The reason for this is that removing all leaves will reduce the rate of photosynthesis significantly and therefore retarded the recovery of the plants which means that you will get lest harvests from the plants.
Generally, you are far better off taking a few leaves from several plants rather than harvesting a whole lot from one. In the case of spinach, you will find that you only have a few weeks where you can harvest from the plant before it either gets too hot in spring or too cold in winter and growth slows down so harvest while you can.
However, in the case of silverbeet you will find that you can harvest for literally months on end and the plant will typically last all the way through the growing season until the following spring where the plant will set seed in mid spring when the weather starts to warm up. To ensure a continuous supply it is important to make sure that you replant the seeds in winter so that the young seedlings take over from the older plants.
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