You can start picking now, to use in salads, pick when they're twice that size and use as spinach, or let them grow and chop them up (with or without ribs) saute in olive oil with some garlic, onions and some chopped up tomatoes at the end. I do this even when they get huge, but before they start to bolt.
Some people say they get bitter when they get large, but I don't find that to be true, personally.
Considering the size of your pots, I would let them get about twice the size that they are, then cut. That will be about one meal. They will grow back! Nancy

Thank you is the summer heat going to bother them. ? Should I start shading in mid summer ?

Just mulch and that'll keep the soil somewhat cool and moist. I've never had them bolt in the summer unless they've already been through one summer and the rest of the seasons...like the ones i planted last spring are just now bolting.

Swiss Chard's a trooper-- plant a few and you'll never be without some greens for a good part of the year.

Speaking of mulching, what's a good type to use, I also should mulch my strawberries, I have a lot of dryed pine needles will they help?

Chard does great in heat -- last summer, even with the super high temps and drought, it grew like gangbusters. I harvest the outer leaves and let the middles keep growing. Mine grow straight through to Thanksgiving without bolting; you might keep yours even longer since you could move the pot inside on the coldest days.

Small leaves are good in salads, but my favorite way to eat chard is to chop it, saute it with onion and garlic, and add it to a quiche. (Chop the leaves and ribs separately and start the ribs cooking first, since they'll take a little longer.)

I separate the leaf and the ribs, chop them up, and saute with olive oil, garlic, onion, thyme, salt, pepper, and a little bit of crushed red pepper. The leaves remind me of spinach and the ribs have a beety taste to them.
I've also made a chard gratin on holidays that is to die for (possibly literally, it's a lot of cheese, butter, and milk in that sucker).

They are good at any stage. But gounger ones have less texture and more water, like spinach. I would start cutting the bigger outer leaves and letting the inner one grow. When they start wrinkling, are getting more texture.
BTW, I am growing some and am practicing what I am preaching: D

Yep. Pine needles are fine.

In my experience, the biggest trigger of bolting in swiss chard is water stress. Keep it moist and it tolerates the heat. Spinach on the other hand will bolt in late spring/ early summer, no matter how you pamper it.

Pine needles are very acidic, are there veg that may not appreciate this especially in the amount you would need to add to create a mulch? I don't know if chard likes or doesn't like acidity.
When I do mulch I prefer straw just because it's fairly neutral for the soil.
Chard and kale are probably the best for you and yet the easiest veg to grow. I've even sprinkled seeds in and around the flower beds, the large leaves look very pretty in and around the flowers (especially the Rainbow Chard and the Larger, darker Kales) and I pick 3 or 4 of the larger ones whenever.

Thanks for all the info. Can't wait to eat some

I started adding chard to Asian-style stirfries last year when I had a bumper crop of chard but not enough peppers or green beans - which were previously my standard for stirfry - and it quickly became my favorite way to eat it. I also saute with onion/garlic/olive oil and layer the resulting delicious mess in a baked pasta with red sauce and goat cheese.

I just had to pull half of mine out because of a fungal disease but the remainder is recovering quickly and already growing to fill in the empty spots now that our endless rain has let up. I think this stuff is indestructible.

It's also divine in soup. I have a Rachel Ray recipe for chicken minestrone that is so awesome that's why I grow chard!! But I've never tried it sauteed, that sounds really good too. How long do you cook it that way?

Edie