Chicory: Expert tips on cultivation, care & harvest

The bitter winter lettuce is extremely healthy. Here you can find out what you should consider when growing and harvesting chicory.

If you want to grow chicory yourself, you need a little patience. Because the delicious buds are not already formed in the vegetable patch, but only after the roots have been harvested in autumn and then sprout again in the dark. How this works and why the perseverance pays off is explained below.

chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) is a leaf chicory and belongs to the daisy family. The roots of wild chicory (C intybus) used as a vegetable and medicinal plant. During the 18 At the end of the 19th century, root chicory (

C intybus var. sativa) are bred and grown to be roasted and used as a coffee substitute for their bitter aroma.

Origin and characteristics of chicory

How exactly the chicory we know today came about is still unclear. One version says that around 1845 the head gardener Brézier of the botanical garden in Brussels discovered that the chicory roots stored in the dark cellar sprout fine, delicate yellow leaf sprouts had. These proved to be extremely tasty and so was the variety ‘Brussels Witloof’ born. What is certain is that the chicory we know today was bred from the root chicory. This is still very popular, especially in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, in Germany However, it is becoming increasingly rare on the plate, although the vegetables are not only easily digestible, but also very healthy is.

The biennial plant forms roots over the summer that are about 15 centimeters long and three to six centimeters thick. Over the winter, in complete darkness and at low temperatures, these form a cone-shaped bud. In the second year, the plant forms a multi-branched inflorescence that is up to 1.5 meters high.

Chicory Varieties

The different chicory varieties differ mainly in the time of harvest, in their color and whether or not they need a top layer for forcing. The top layer is a layer of soil or sand that covers the roots after harvest and provides space for the shoots.

Recommended chicory varieties:

• ‘Brussels Witloof’: Old variety that needs cover soil to bud
• ‘Etardo’: mid-late to late forcing; delicious, pure chicory taste with heavy, firm heads
• 'Robin': Especially by its red shoots; is sown from May to June
• 'Atlas': Proven variety that sprout early
• ‘Dura’: variety with a delicate taste; The sprouts are harvested from December to March; Forcing without cover soil

Buying chicory: you should pay attention to this

Chicory is sown directly in the field, which is why only the seed has to be bought. This can be found in hardware stores, garden centers or on the Internet. If you want to propagate your chicory yourself, you should make sure that you buy solid seeds. See the article below for tips on propagation.

growing chicory

The cultivation of chicory can roughly be divided into two steps: In the spring, the plants are grown outdoors and over the winter the roots are driven into the cellar. Forcing means that after a resting phase, the root is made to sprout again. This happens in complete darkness and at temperatures of 12 to 18 °C. Today, above all, water driving is practiced. The roots are immersed in a nutrient solution. However, this method is less suitable for indoor cultivation. A suitable way to grow your own winter lettuce is to plant it in a container in the basement. You can find out exactly how this works in the next section.

The right location for chicory

A sunny location with sandy, humus-rich soil is particularly suitable for the plants to thrive and form strong roots. This should be moderately rich in nutrients, too much nitrogen promotes leaf mass in particular, which is at the expense of the roots and makes them less viable. In order for the roots to develop well, it is important that the soil is deep, stone-free and not compacted. The pH should ideally be between 6.5 and 7.5. You should also plan a cultivation break of at least four years in the crop rotation.

tip: Besides his close relatives radicchio (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), oat root (Tragopogon porrifolius) or endive (Cichorium endivia) the chicory does not like to stand. Good neighbors, on the other hand, are fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum), carrots (Daucus carota ssp. sativus), Beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. vulgaris) and the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

Procedure for growing chicory

Chicory cultivation is best explained by dividing it into two stages: sowing and forcing.

Step 1: Sowing chicory outdoors

Chicory is a winter vegetable that is sown in spring. From mid-May, at the earliest at the end of April, the seeds are sown at a row spacing of 30 to 40 centimeters and slightly thinner than carrots. The sowing depth should be between two and three centimetres. About four weeks after sowing, the plants are separated in the row at a distance of ten centimetres.

notice: If you sow too early or if the plants have too much space, the roots can grow too big. Although the roots can be shortened for forcing, they often form many small side buds.

After 18 to 20 weeks outdoors, around mid-September to October, the roots can be carefully harvested with a digging fork, for example. The foliage is cut off five centimeters above the root and trimmed if necessary. Until the forcing begins, the roots are wrapped in moist sand and stored in a cool place for the resting phase - as with other root vegetables.

To form beautiful buds, the roots should have the following characteristics:

• Length: 15-20cm
• Thickness: 3-6cm
• Weight: 100-200g

How do you go about sowing chicory?

• Sow late April to mid-May
• Row spacing: 30 – 40 cm
• Sowing depth: 2 – 3 cm
• Sow thinly
• After 4 weeks separate to 10 cm
• Harvest the roots mid-September to October

Step 2: The forcing

After the resting phase, forcing follows, usually from December. This requires temperatures between 12 and 18 °C and complete darkness. When light gets to the plants, the leaves turn green and bitter. Depending on the variety, forcing is done with a top layer, for example a ten centimeter thick one Layer of sand or earth, or without a top layer, for example with an opaque film. Especially older varieties like the ‘Brussels Witloof’ need a top layer for forcing, newer varieties like ‘Tardivo’ or 'Robin' however not.

One option for forcing yourself in the basement is to plant the roots in a container such as an old saucepan, bucket, or plastic box. To do this, the roots are placed vertically in the container, close together, and this is filled with soil. This should not be damp, but should be thoroughly poured with warm water when it is brought in to give the roots the impetus to sprout. It is important that there is enough dark space above the container for the winter lettuce to grow and that the shoots do not get wet when you fill them with water. After three to five weeks, the chicory is ready and can be harvested.

How is chicory forged?

• Takes place in complete darkness
• Temperatures from 12 to 18 °C
• Place the roots vertically in the container
• Fill with soil and pour warm water over it
• Harvest after 3 to 5 weeks

Caring for chicory: Proper watering and fertilizing

Chicory is a weak to medium feeder. It doesn't do well with fresh manure on the bed, but you can use compost or a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect before planting - like our Plantura Organic universal fertilizer – incorporate. This completely animal-free fertilizer provides the plant with the most important nutrients throughout the growing season.

To ensure that the plants grow evenly and well, attention should be paid to consistent soil moisture. The seedlings in particular are susceptible to dehydration, so you must not forget to water them regularly during dry periods. Care measures are not required when growing the roots. However, regular hoeing to loosen the soil and keep weeds away pays off.

Propagating chicory

If you want to produce your seeds yourself, you should use the roots that have formed particularly nice heads. In the second year, the plant develops a branched inflorescence that is up to 1.5 meters high and has pretty, blue flowers. In autumn, the ripe seeds can then be harvested for reproduction. Make sure that you do not use so-called F1 varieties for propagation. F1 varieties refer to hybrid varieties that do not pass on their properties and therefore cannot be reproduced.

Tip: In order to be able to preserve the varietal characteristics, no chicory or wild chicory should be blooming within a radius of 500 meters.

Harvesting and storing chicory

The winter lettuce can be harvested after about a month. This has now formed solid shoots above the root and can be cut off at the root base. Each root can only be harvested once. The salad should be stored completely dark at 3 to 6°C, preferably in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. After a week at the latest, the delicious vegetables should be processed.

Ingredients and uses of chicory

Whether steamed, fried, raw or prepared as a casserole - chicory should not be missing in any healthy kitchen. Especially as a crunchy raw food in winter it can hardly be surpassed. Bitter substances are responsible for the unmistakable, slightly bitter taste, above all intybin. This secondary ingredient stimulates the formation of bile acids, which has a positive effect on our intestines. In addition to bitter substances, chicory also scores with numerous vitamins and dietary fibers. If you want to tone down the typical taste of chicory, you can counteract the bitter note with a salad dressing, for example with honey.

tip: If you want to know what chicory tastes like as a coffee substitute, you can look around in the supermarket, because even today you can still find chicory in coffee substitute products.

If you like growing weirder veggies, check out our article on flower sprout past.