Frilled, deeply cut leaves form a low rosette barely a foot high, with a heart that turns pale and loses its bitterness once blanched. Curly endive (Cichorium endivia), or frisée, is grown for crisp salad leaves full of water, fibre and minerals; keep it cool and lightly watered and it crops within weeks.
| Name | Cichorium endivia or latifolium |
|---|---|
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Type | annual |
| Height | 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) |
| Exposure | full sun, part sun |
| Soil | ordinary |
| Harvest | around 6 weeks after sowing |
Sowing, planting, caring for it and harvesting will help you get great curly endive.
Curly endive is traditionally grown in summer and fall, but it can also be sown earlier for a harvest in spring.
It is sown directly in the plot in rows from Late winter to mid-autumn. Starting early is possible, but you’ll need to protect your seedlings from the cold with cold frames, garden cloches or tunnels.
As for summer sowing, know that curly endive loves staying cool to develop well.
In all cases, thin sprouts down to one every 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) as soon as the first leaves appear.
Did you know that curly endive is perfectly suited to growing in pots? You’ll be able to savor it directly from your balcony or terrace.
Curly endive can be sown over most of the year, each sowing season giving a crop at a different moment. Use the table to pick the sowing that matches the harvest you want.
| Crop | Sowing season | Where to sow | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring curly endive | Late winter to early spring | In a nursery, under cover | Remove the tunnel once frost spells are over |
| Summer curly endive | Mid-spring to early summer | Directly in the plot | Curly endive loves staying cool to develop well |
| Autumn curly endive | Late spring to early summer | In situ | Resists the first colds and lasts deep into autumn |
| Winter curly endive | Late summer to mid-autumn | In a nursery or directly in the ground | Protect with a small greenhouse or tunnel, giving maximum light |
Staggering these sowing dates, and the varieties used, keeps curly endive coming almost all year long.
If you wish to avoid the seedling stage, it is often possible to purchase your curly endive in a nursery pot, ready to plant.
You can plant them in the ground, either in your vegetable patch or in a garden box on a terrace or balcony.
Farmers like blanching curly endive to remove the bitterness from its leaves before eating. It turns leaves whiter.
It is best to blanch only as much as you need to harvest, because once blanched, curly endive won’t keep for very long.
Curly endive resists very well when the first colds hit, and will thus last deep into fall.
After having forced (blanched) them, harvest your curly endive by cutting them off at the root crown.
It is possible to harvest curly endive all season round, and even during winter.
As soon as the cold hits, protect your seedlings and plants with a small greenhouse, a tunnel, or any other device that will help your curly endive grow even though temperatures are below freezing, providing as much light as possible.
A sub-species of endive, as is escarole, curly endive (also called frisée) is rather easy to grow. Curly endive doesn’t require much care during its entire growth phase, except for light regular watering.
An annual belonging to the Asteraceae family, curly endive doesn’t deliver very energy-laden nutrition, but contains high amounts of water and facilitates digestion.
There are also many trace elements, fibers, minerals and vitamins that our bodies require.
Stage curly endive sowing dates and varieties to produce curly endive almost all year long.
