Endive and Chicory

[Rocket ScienceMember]

Overwinted Endive and Chicory will very soon be finishing in the polytunnel. A real star this winter has been a Radicchio Orchidea Rossa from Seeds of Italy. Sown late Aug it has made lots of small to medium leaves for picking every week with amazing red colour streaked with white to give colour to salad mix. It can also be sown mid june to mid july to grow outside and heart up like normal Radicchio producing smaller very deep red hearts. Plants can be spaced at 20×20 as they are smaller heads. I think it is always worth allowing one Endive or Chicory to set seed to save for future sowings. One plant produces hundreds if not thousands of seeds so you can even give some away! Last year i saved seed from the yellow Endive Bianca Ricchia da Taglio. Seeds are slightly harder to harvest than lettuce- had to resort to grinding the husks between two house bricks to release them but with so many people seeming to have issues with dodgy seed packets its got to be worth it!!

[charlesModerator]

 Good tips here, I must do more of this. Were your endive and chicory seeds ready in August? Had you stopped picking the plant for some time before it wanted to flower?

I grew Orchidea Rossa once for a heart, found it reluctant to heart up, shall sow it for leaf this year!

[Rocket ScienceMember]

Think seeds were ready for harvesting sometime in August in the tunnel. I agree about Orchidea about being better for picking leaves, they look like red oyster shells! Will be saving seeds from Lusia outdoors this year, i need new seed but remembered yours didn’t come true last year!! Would like to save more than one variety but have read that they can cross a lot easier than lettuce.

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