I hope you're successful at what you've described. I will admit, however, that I'm skeptical.
We have tried brussel sprouts (from seed, as a fall crop) and they suffered miserably in the hot fall days -- even the late fall days when the days are bright and sunny and temps up in the high 70s.
Also, I planted "brite lites" swiss chard last spring (early in the spring) and -- even with shade covering -- it struggled along, drooping, being eaten with beetles, until I finally pulled it up, put it in a pot, and put it in a mostly shade location. It continued to struggle there.
Since we've had these experiences, I have to wonder if you're not going to have an even harder time going into a season where the weather is getting warmer, not cooler.
That said, is there some reason you can't leave your swiss chard alone and let it grow into/through the spring? The white chard has done wonderfully well in full sun on into summer with huge leaves, nearly 2' long!
We have swiss chard growing right now (both white and "brite lites") and it's doing great. Kale, too. We are going to leave both in the ground -- without doing shade cover on it -- until they show signs of stress, then pull them up. We hope the kale will last into at least April and possibly May, depending on the weather and, as I said above, the swiss chard should go longer than that.
If you decide to leave your s.chard and kale in place, make sure they are well mulched as the weather starts warming. That will help them greatly to tolerate the warming temps.
Happy Gardening!
_________________ God speed! Cara ** Take time to stop and smell the flowers! (or... as my ladybug refrigerator magnet says "take time to stop and eat the flowers!" )
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