Grow Guide: Growing Silverbeet in Your Urban Garden

Silverbeet is a superstar of the urban edible garden. It’s incredibly versatile, highly nutritious, and remarkably forgiving – perfect for Melbourne’s temperamental spring and summer weather. The beautiful, glossy green leaves with colourful stems (white, yellow, or red) add a pop of colour to your garden and your plate. Unlike some leafy greens, silverbeet keeps producing throughout the season, so you can enjoy continuous harvests if you cut carefully.

🕰️Best Time to Plant

• Can be grown almost year-round in Melbourne and most Australian urban climates.
• Ideal months: early spring through autumn.
• Avoid the hottest part of summer to prevent bolting.

📍Where to Plant

• Choose a spot with 4–6 hours of sun daily; partial shade is fine.
• Works well in garden beds, raised beds, or containers.
• Protect from strong winds and provide partial shade in the hottest months if possible.

🧑‍🌾How to Grow

1. Sowing: Plant seeds 1–2 cm deep. Space seedlings 5–10 cm apart and thin to 25–30 cm once established.
2. Soil Prep: Enrich the bed or pot with compost or well-rotted manure. Silverbeet loves nutrient-rich soil.
3. Succession Planting: Sow every 3–4 weeks to maintain a steady supply of fresh leaves.
4. Silverbeet grows quickly, with seedlings emerging in 7–14 days under ideal conditions (15–20°C). Cutting outer leaves encourages continual growth and prevents the plant from going to seed too soon.

💧Watering & Feeding

• Watering: Keep soil consistently moist, especially in warmer months. Mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
• Feeding: Side-dress with compost or a balanced organic fertilizer every 4–6 weeks to keep leaves tender and prolific.

🍽️Harvesting

• Harvest outer leaves when they are 15–20 cm long, leaving the central growth point intact.
• For baby leaves, pick earlier for tender greens perfect for salads.
• Always cut leaves at the base rather than pulling to avoid damaging the plant.
• Silverbeet will keep producing for months if harvested correctly, giving you multiple pickings from the same plant!

😱Common Problems (and Fixes)

• Pests: Aphids, leaf miners, slugs, and snails are the usual culprits. Hand-pick or use organic sprays where necessary.
• Diseases: Downy mildew or leaf spot can appear in wet conditions. Improve air circulation, avoid wetting leaves, and remove affected foliage.
• Bolting: Excessive heat or stress can trigger flowering. Provide partial shade in summer and maintain consistent watering to slow bolting.

👋Best Companion Plants

• Onions & garlic → Deter pests that might chew on the leaves.
• Beans & peas → Fix nitrogen in the soil, boosting silverbeet growth.
• Brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) → Silverbeet doesn’t compete heavily and fills gaps between them.
• Radishes → Grow fast and help loosen the soil around slower-growing chard.

💡My Urban Patch Take

Silverbeet is one of my go-to plants for urban gardening. It’s low-maintenance, resilient, and keeps giving, making it perfect for small city patches. Interspersed with other greens (e.g. lettuce), it’s a mini edible jungle that feeds us almost continuously. Even on Melbourne’s unpredictable days, a well-cared-for silverbeet patch feels like a tiny victory every time I cut a handful of leaves for dinner.

(Need a little refresher before getting started on your silverbeet journey? Check out my Urban Garden Beginner’s Guide: 4 Essentials to Get Growing Fast)