The past few years I have really gotten into having a garden. It’s something I enjoy a great deal and it has helped me to become more healthy by eating quite a bit better than I was before.

I have a few questions and issues with my plants and I am hoping you can steer me in the right direction.

First off my Swiss Chard. I was quite surprised to see my beautiful Swiss chard plants not only make it through the winter but made such a comeback they are now bigger and better than they were last year. I did some research and discovered this :

In areas that never experience a hard freeze, Swiss chard sometimes behaves like a perennial, living for several years. When it blooms, you can cut off the bloom stalk and it will produce more leaves. Whole harvested leaves will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks in a loose plastic bag or sealed container.

I had my Swiss chard on my deck railing in large planter boxes. They were elevated about 15 feet off the ground in those boxes and received a ton of afternoon sun. We now have a new “fancy looking” deck and I was told my planter boxes are no longer welcome on the deck.

Is there anything specific you have done with your plants that act like perennials (so long as they don’t get too frozen) to help them come back year after year? I’m thinking about making some sort of mini greenhouse over them but I’m not sure if that will work or if there is something else I can do to help my chard now that it’s going to have to make it at ground level.


Next up. My kale. Some damn little caterpillar thing is eating my kale plants. I was out of town for 4 days and when I came back they ate the hell out of 3 of my 9 plants. I’ve been killing them individually by pulling them off my plants and squashing them but they are so far winning this war. How do I rid myself of these bugs and still keep my Kale safe to eat for myself and my bearded dragon?

Thanks in advance!!!!

Transplant the chard into your garden. If you're worried about hard freezes build a cold frame over them.

On the kale, I use liquid Sevin for pest control. Just wait a few days after spraying (I should look up the exact number) and wash well before eating. It's the least toxic thing I've found that actually works. MUCH better than powder.

If you’re trying to avoid pesticides, most bugs hate mint and marigolds. Plant those throughout/around the garden. Won’t be an impenetrable shield but it helps.