Sown directly in the open plot, then lifted, trimmed and packed into a dark cellar or a crate of peat, endive or chicory (Cichorium) forms heads that break off cleanly at the base. It is good raw and cooked; give it full sun, ordinary soil and a few weeks of darkness, and the harvest is abundant.
| Name | Cichorium |
|---|---|
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Type | Vegetable |
| Height | 8 to 20 inches (20 to 50 cm) |
| Exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Ordinary |
| Harvest | Late autumn to early spring |
Caring for it is easy and the harvest is often abundant if this advice on caring for it is followed.
To grow chicory well, proceed to sow directly in the plot starting from late spring.
The Nature-and-Garden gardener knows to mix the very tiny seeds with dry sand to make it easier to spread the seeds out when sowing.
From sowing in the open plot to the last chicons broken off in the dark, chicory endive follows a simple sequence. Use the table to see what happens when, and what each stage asks of you.
| Stage | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing | Late spring | Sow directly in the plot, mixing the very tiny seeds with dry sand |
| Thinning | As soon as the first leaves appear | Space seedlings 10 inches (25 cm), thin to 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) |
| Lifting the roots | Mid-autumn to late autumn | Pull out the plants, cut leaves to ½ inch above the crown, trim root tips level |
| Forcing | Immediately after lifting | Line the roots up in a dark cellar, box or trench and cover with soil mix or compost |
| First harvest | 3 to 4 weeks after forcing | Break the endive off at the base |
| Second harvest | A few weeks after the first | Keep the same root in sand and cut again |
Staggering the forcing of successive batches of roots spreads these stages out and keeps endives coming all winter long.
Forcing has become much better thanks to the genetic evolution in the past years. It became much easier to succeed and can now be performed in a cellar, large pot or even a crate filled with peat.
It is possible to harvest the endives twice from the same root, at an interval of a few weeks. Simply keep the root in the sand after the 1st harvest.
Don’t throw the roots out after the harvest, because many small “tiny endives” will appear which you can harvest as they appear.
Stage the forcing in time, so that you may harvest endives all winter long.
Read also: health benefits and therapeutic properties of endives
