Refine By
A salad addition similar to lettuce but with a distinct flavour. These vegetables have a slightly bitter taste, but the blanching of the leaves lessen the bitterness. There are two distinct forms of chicory - leaf types or forcing types.
FORCING TYPES:
Sow the seeds 1.5cm (1/2”) deep in rows 30cm (12”) apart in May or early June, thin the seedlings to 20cm (8”) apart. Keep weed free and water regularly during the summer. Do not harvest any leaves until the late autumn. Between October and December the roots should be lifted, trim off the leaves, which can be used in salads, to leave about 2cm (3/4”) above the neck of the root. Store the roots in a frost free shed until required. Shorten the root length to about 20cm (8”) and plant 4 or 5 roots close together in a large pot with moist soil or compost. Place an inverted pot on top, covering any holes to exclude light. Put in a warm environment, about 18°C, and the chicons should be ready in around 3-4 weeks.
LEAF TYPES (RADICCHIO):
Sow seed outdoors between April & August, sowing thinly where they are to crop, 1.5cm (½") deep, directly into finely-prepared soil, in rows spaced 30cm (12”) apart. Can also be sown under glass early in the year or in autumn into modules filled with seed sowing compost and transplanted out, filling vacant spaces on the plot. Thin out direct sown seedlings to 25-30cm (10-12”) apart between the plants. Keep well watered in dry spells. Transplant modules to the same spacings as above. Leaves can be picked regularly after about 4 weeks or leave until mature and harvest the whole head. Leave the stump in the ground and you will get a small regrowth of young leaves.
Buy chicory seeds online from Kings.
