Plant, care for and use sugar loaf

Meatwort, also known as sugar loaf, is a lettuce that can easily be grown in your own garden. Here you can find out everything about sowing, care and harvesting.

If you want to eat crispy lettuce even in winter, you can grow meatballs in your garden. It is also called sugar loaf - but this name is due to the shape and not the taste. Here you can find out how to grow, care for and harvest these rather undemanding winter vegetables.

Meatroot: origin and properties

meatloaf (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) has many names: It is known as sugar loaf, chicory salad or chicory salad. The better-known name "sugar loaf" comes from the visual resemblance to the cone-shaped sugar loaf. Botanically, like radicchio, chicory and other edible garden chicory, it is a cultivar native to Europe

Ordinary chicory (Chicory). It belongs to the daisy family (Asteraceae).

Meat sauerkraut originally comes from Italy, Austria, southern France and southern Switzerland. Nowadays it also enjoys great popularity throughout France, Switzerland and southern Germany. Meatwort is grown both agriculturally and in numerous home gardens.

Depending on the variety, the elongated heads are around 25 to 35 cm long and form oval, dull green to light yellow leaves. Similar to other types of chicory, sugar loaf tastes slightly bitter. The bitterness increases with the age of the plants, but decreases again if the sugar loaf was exposed to light night frosts.

Sugar Loaf Varieties

Popular sugar loaf varieties include the following:

• 'Jupiter F1': A robust, not very sensitive variety; light green leaves; high-yielding and storable; early harvest possible from July, can be harvested until September; slightly nutty taste.
• 'Nettuno TT': Tolerates light frosts; compact and fast-growing; Harvesting is possible around 90 days after sowing, generally between September and November; crisp, aromatic, slightly sweet note.
• 'Choice': Tolerates frosts down to -4 °C; can be planted a little tighter than other varieties; juicy green leaves; Harvest possible from the beginning of September to the end of November, in mild years even into December; easy to store; aromatic taste.

Planting sugar loaf: location and procedure

If you want to plant sugar loaf, you should consider when choosing a location that it develops taproots and hardly any side roots. That is why locations with deep soils are important. A humus-rich soil in sheltered and sunny beds is preferred, but the sugar loaf is undemanding. Most good garden soil will do for him. Mixed cultivation is possible without any problems. For example, are suitable for this peas (Pisum sativum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), carrots (Daucus carota) or parsnips (Pastinaca sativa). In addition, the sugar loaf can easily be included in the crop rotation. Cultivation after other salads, Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) or radish (Raphanus sativus var. sativus) makes sense. A three-year break in cultivation for the same location is recommended, as this will prevent disease transmission.

Sugar Loaf can be sown directly outdoors between mid-June and mid-July. A planting distance of about 30 cm between the plants and about 40 cm between the rows should be ensured. A planting density of 10 plants per square meter is ideal. If you want to harvest the sugar loaf earlier, you can let the seeds germinate from mid-May and plant young plants in the bed in June. A germination temperature of 20 to 25 °C is optimal for germination, the germination period is about eight days. Seed compost is used for the cultivation, as this has a reduced nutrient content, which ensures a denser and more resistant root system. Our Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil is ideal for sowing and is also produced sustainably and peat-free.

Due to the taproots, it is necessary to separate the plants that have been brought forward early. The sugar loaf seedlings should be released at the earliest when they have formed two leaves, but at the latest after four weeks. If the sugar loaf is not protected from the cold, it shoots very quickly.

Tip: In order to be able to harvest early, there is the possibility of preferring the seeds from mid-March. They are then planted out from mid-April and covered with a double layer of foil and fleece. This protects against frost and has a greenhouse effect during the day. After two weeks the top layer can be removed, after another four weeks the bottom layer - then it's mid-May. A harvest is possible as early as mid-June.

Caring for meatballs properly

Meatwort is very undemanding during vegetation. It is sufficient if it is watered regularly during dry phases. In addition, weeds should be weeded regularly so that the meatballs are not overgrown. Further fertilization is not necessary on well-supplied sites, and there is no need to cut the plant.
Depending on the variety, the meat herb can easily withstand frost temperatures of down to -6 °C, which is why a harvest is possible until the end of November. However, the plant is not hardy outdoors. In principle, overwintering is possible in a greenhouse or under foil.

Harvesting and storing sugar loaf

Harvest time begins as soon as the heads feel firm. The sugar loaf can then be cut off close to the ground, leaving the protruding bottom leaves. As already mentioned, sugar loaf is a seasonal vegetable that can be harvested between September and sometimes into December, depending on the variety.

Fortunately, if the harvested heads cannot be eaten immediately, they can be stored without any problems. It is better to then harvest part of the root and cut off the lower protruding leaves. Thus, the sugar loaf stays fresh longer. It can be stored and consumed in a cool, dark place until mid-February. If the sugar loaf is dug up with the entire root and stored in the basement in a box filled with moist soil or sand, you can store it until the following spring.

Uses and ingredients of sugar loaf

The stored vegetables can still be eaten raw after a few weeks. Alternatively, you can steam sugar loaf, use it as a stir-fry or cook it in the oven. A sugar loaf vegetable casserole baked with cheese is particularly delicious.

The ingredients are very similar to those of chicory. Sugarloaf is rich in potassium, folic acid and zinc. It contains vitamins A, B and C and is also very low in calories. The bitter taste of sugar loaf is caused by the bitter substance lactucopicrin. This stimulates the activity of the pancreas and gallbladder and is therefore excellent for digestion.

Sugar Loaf: Diseases and Common Pests

During its development, the sugar loaf can mainly be influenced by the aphid be harmed. The lettuce root aphid also damages the sugar loaf by attacking the roots of the plants. An infestation is difficult to detect due to the way of life hidden in the ground; but the lice attract ants with their honeydew secretions. These are therefore a good indicator of an infestation.

In addition to pests, disease can also occur. Especially when the leaves are damaged by heavy rain or hail, fungi have a target to attack. the powdery mildew (Erysiphaceae) can attack the plants in dry summer, while Alternaria (Alternaria) spreads in the wet autumn. In addition, if the plants are weak or have been over-fertilized, the Gray Mold Fungus (Botrytis cinerea) become a problem.

Sugarloaf lettuce is the ideal vegetable for the winter. For the summer you can find more here green, red and colored lettuce varietiesthat can be grown in your garden.