How To Grow Chicory?

Chicory can be sow from first of spring through the last of fall.It takes fourteen to sixteen weeks to harvest. The best place to grow chicory is either in beds and containers. In a nine feet long bed eight to twelve plants can be planted, and in a container, three plants can be planted in each one. The chicory are highly ornamental and they have robust leaves and they are an asset to any plot. Chicory  can be eaten raw or it can be cooked, which  ever way you would want it. If you eat it raw, chicory has a slightly bitter, but pleasant taste., which can be moderated by blanching the chicory. All the different varieties of chicory.  are easy to grow and they are suitable for containers.

Getting Started

Three different types of chicory.

Witloof or Belgian-they have a deep root and white heads.

Radicchio forms a heart, which is like lettuce.

Sugarloaf has a loose head of green leaves.

If the  seeds are sown in trays, the seedlings   need to be taken out as soon as they are large enough to handle. When I  am watering  the seeds I will need to water them very gently so the seeds will not be moved around. The next step is to pick out the seedlings as  soon as they are large enough, plant them in small pots or modules.

Sowing seeds

I like to start  sowing my seeds early and I do this by sowing them under cover. During it this way, it would be useful for fall and winter sowing for the cut-and-come-back leaves or it can be use for spring-maturing crops. Fill the trays with compost, water it real good and then let it drain real good. Make each hole 1/2 inch deep or every two inch and then sow one seed into each hole. Cover with a little compost to each seed and water each  area. lightly. Chicory's germination rates are very high.

Sow and plant out

Getting the soil ready by digging the soil and removing all the weeds. I can  now sow directly into the soil, by making drills 1/2 inch deep, water it well, and then sow the seeds thinly along the drills. After you  have sow the seeds, they need to be cover with soil and water in. By me raising my seedling  under cover, I can plant them outside as soon as their roots fill the hole or each cell. They need to be planted at ten to sixteen inches apart, and water them well.

Routine care

The chicory plants  need to be watered well, and they need to be weed regularly. If your soil is sandy or alkaline, or if you have them in pots, the plants may benefit from a dose of general purpose liquid fertilizer added every two weeks.

Harvesting

The leaves can be harvest  as soon as, the plants are a real good size. I always want to have a second harvest, I will need to leave the stump in the ground, cut a cross in the top of the plant, and remove all of the leaves that are remaining. After a few weeks, new smaller shoots will appear, and I will need to cover with a pot to blanch them.