Witloof chicory: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow Belgian endive outdoors successfully?
Choose a Belgian endive variety suitable for forcing. Sow outdoors, usually in May or June according to your climate and seed packet, to allow roots to develop before autumn. Avoid early sowings exposed to cold, which can bolt. Choose a sunny position and well-drained soil.
Sow thinly in drills about 1 cm deep, spaced about 30 cm apart. Cover and water gently. Keep the surface moist during germination without standing water. Thin gradually to about 15 cm between plants, adjusting spacing to the variety's instructions.
Weed and water during dry spells. Keep the leaves while growing the crop: they help the root develop. In autumn or winter, healthy, sufficiently developed roots will be used for forcing in darkness. Chicons are not harvested simply by cutting the green garden foliage.
Keep a label with the exact variety name so you can find its forcing requirements later. Mark the rows and weed between them without injuring the young roots. When thinning, retain vigorous seedlings and avoid lifting those you want to keep. Use a fine watering rose so you do not wash channels around the seedlings or expose their roots.
How do you harvest Belgian endive?
Distinguish lifting roots from harvesting chicons. In autumn or winter, lift healthy, well-developed roots and trim the foliage to about 2.5 cm above the crown without damaging the central bud. This prepares the roots for forcing; it does not yet produce chicons ready to eat.
For forcing in pots, stand the roots vertically in moist compost, with the crowns at the surface. Keep them completely dark at around 10–15 °C. Monitor moisture and rot. Harvest once the chicons are well formed, around 15 cm tall, usually after a few weeks depending on conditions, by cutting them at the base.
Force small batches to spread the harvest. A second, smaller shoot may form if the root stays in place. Keep harvested chicons cool and out of the light, which turns them green. Eat them promptly and discard spoiled parts, without relying on a guaranteed storage period of several weeks.
Witloof chicory
- Type : Vegetables
- Subtype : Root vegetables
- Botanical Family : Asteraceae (daisy family)
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Annual
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Challenging
- Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Sowing Depth : 1 cm
- Plant Spacing : 30 cm
- Row Spacing : 30 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : High
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Self-pollinating
- Propagation : Sowing