Salad chicory - not very common in Russia vegetable plant. However, in some European countries and North America chicory salad is gaining popularity and is even considered a delicacy. It occurs in both natural and cultivated forms. Root crops of cultivated salad chicory, when forced in the dark, form elongated creamy-white heads, composed of juicy leaves, unusually tasty and healthy.
From the name it is clear that this plant is a type of chicory. But what else do we know about him?
Description.
Salad chicory is a biennial plant of the Asteraceae family, which in the first year of growth produces succulent leaves and roots (from which tasty heads of cabbage are harvested in winter), and in the second year (if the roots are not dug up) - flowers and seeds.
The most common varieties of salad chicory: Witloof, Mitado, Express.
Benefit.
Being dietary product, lettuce chicory has a surprisingly rich set of vitamins (group B, PP, C), mineral salts, and other biologically active substances. It is especially worth considering that the cultivation of this crop involves the use of healthy ends in the autumn-winter period, when we are so lacking in fresh healthy vegetables.
Use for food. 
Tender, somewhat sweet, with an admixture of piquant bitterness, heads of chicory salad have a surprisingly pleasant taste. They are used for preparing salads, frying, stewing, preparing complex multi-ingredient dishes, and even for pickling. For queries like “chicory salad dishes”, search engines currently produce a huge variety of delicious recipes.
Growing.
To obtain tasty heads of cabbage from seeds, chicory root crops are grown in the summer, and in the fall, winter or spring, the final healthy and tasty product is obtained by forcing.
1. Growing root crops.
Soil.
The plant prefers fertile, loose soil with a neutral (or close to it) reaction.
Sowing.
The seeds of the plant are sown in the second ten days of May in grooves 1.5-2 cm deep. The distance between the grooves is about 30 cm, between seedlings 4-5 cm. Water.
Care.
Caring for the plant is no different from caring for other root crops and includes the basics: weeding, loosening and watering.
When the first two true leaves appear, the sprouts are thinned out, leaving a distance of 15-25 cm between them.
Harvesting and storing root crops.
Root crops are usually harvested in October, sometimes in early November (if planting is late).
The best root vegetables have a length of 23-26 cm and a diameter of 3-4 cm. They are best left for distillation. And non-standard root vegetables are used to make a coffee substitute. This is done very simply: the root vegetables are cut into thin slices, dried and lightly fried in the oven, they become brittle and aromatic, and are crushed by hand.
They are stored in containers, boxes, in bulk at a temperature of +1...+4º C.
2. Forcing chicory salad. 
Creation of necessary conditions.
Most often, distillation is carried out in dark, cool cellars and basements.
In the light, the leaves turn green, bitterness appears in them, and they become unsuitable for use as food. Therefore, distillation is carried out only in dark rooms.
At elevated temperatures, the leaves appear faster, but the head is formed too loose. At low temperatures(below +10º C) the leaves appear too slowly and the head of cabbage forms soft and loose. The optimal temperature for forcing is +14…+17º C.
Planting and care.
For forcing, boxes or containers about 50 cm deep are used. Soil is poured into them and root crops are planted so that their heads are level with the surface of the filled soil.
After planting, the root crops are watered and then covered with fertile soil in a layer of 25-30 cm.
Harvest.
After 25-30 days, the heads of cabbage reach a height of 18-25 cm and a weight of 150 g.
The covering layer is raked off, the heads of cabbage are cut off with part of the head of the root crop so that they do not crumble. After removing the heads of the first harvest, several small shoots may form on the root crops. They are kicked out in the same way.
More and more often we have to try things that are not very common in our area. vegetable crops- asparagus, artichoke, chicory salad. How to grow them yourself? Seeds or seedlings? How to properly prepare the soil for vegetable shoots and vegetable inflorescences? Oktyabrina Ganichkina advises.
Asparagus
Asparagus is a perennial plant that produces a fleshy rhizome and thick white roots that store nutrients. Powerful shoots develop from the buds on the rhizome, producing bundles of thin, delicate stems that act as leaves. While in the soil, the shoots remain white in color, and when exposed to light, they become dark green, become coarser and branch out. Mature asparagus bushes reach a height of 2 m.
Asparagus is a dioecious plant: male specimens are more productive and early ripening than female ones.
Salads, side dishes, soups are prepared from asparagus shoots; they are consumed boiled, stewed, fried and canned.
Asparagus also has medicinal properties: serves, helps with kidney diseases, heart diseases, rheumatism, gout, lowers blood pressure and relieves fatigue.
Adult plants are quite cold-resistant, but seeds germinate only at 20-25°C, and seedlings suffer from frost. The optimal temperature for shoot growth is 10-12°C.
Asparagus is moisture-loving; with a lack of water, the shoots become bitter and become fibrous, and, conversely, with too much water, the roots rot and die. It is very demanding on soil fertility and structure; plants grow well on light, fertile soils rich in organic matter. Asparagus does not tolerate acidic soils and close standing groundwater.
The area for asparagus is prepared in the fall. The soil is dug up to a depth of 35-40 cm and 10-12 kg/m2 of humus or compost is added. In the spring it is dug up again and added mineral fertilizers: 1 tbsp. spoon (25 g) of "Agricola for root vegetables" or nitrophoska per 1 m 2.
Growing. Asparagus is mainly grown seedling method. An area with loose fertile soil is allocated for the nursery with the addition of 5-6 kg/m2 of humus or compost and 1 teaspoon of urea, superphosphate, potassium sulfate per 1 m2 for digging. The surface is leveled, grooves are made at a distance of 20-25 cm and generously watered with a solution of the growth stimulator "Energen": 1 capsule is diluted in 5 liters of water.
Before sowing, the seeds are kept for 2-3 days in a warm solution (25°C) of "Agricola Vegeta", 1 tbsp is dissolved in 0.5 liters of water. spoon, they are kept in a fabric bag for 3 days. The swollen seeds are scattered onto a cloth, covered with another damp cloth and placed in a warm place (20-25°C). The sprouted seeds are sown to a depth of 3 cm with a distance in a row of 6-8 cm and mulched with a 1 cm layer of humus. Planting is carried out in early June.
The seedlings are thinned out, leaving a distance of 10-15 cm between them. 15 days after germination, the asparagus is fed organic fertilizers: dilute 2 tbsp per 10 liters of water. spoons of "Agricola Forward" or "Universal Rossa".
To obtain bleached asparagus, when loosening the rows, the soil is first raised by 10 cm, then by another 10-15, so that the layer of humus above the rhizome is at least 25 cm.
In the next 2 years, loosening the soil, watering and fertilizing with fertilizer solutions are necessary.
In autumn, shoots are cut off at the surface of the soil and burned; the rows are covered with manure, peat or leaves.
Harvesting in May of the third year. To do this, carefully rake the soil away from the shoots and cut them out. sharp knife, and the holes fall asleep again. Harvesting bleached asparagus is carried out daily and only after 2-3 days in cold cloudy weather. Good shoots should be 15-20 cm long and 1-1.5 cm thick. On average, one plant produces 10-12 shoots, sometimes up to 30, weighing 20-30 g.
Varieties of asparagus. Argenteuil early - early ripening; The shoots are large, low-fiber, white, have pink heads, above-ground young shoots are green-violet. Mary Washington - mid-season; the shoots are very large, thick, yellowish. Aboveground shoots are green-violet. Good for producing green asparagus. Early yellow - new domestic early ripening; The shoots are tender, white with a dense yellow head. Aboveground shoots are greenish-yellow. Resistant to diseases. Harvest-6—mid-season; The shoots are thick, large, white, the heads are pink. On the soil surface they acquire a green-violet color.
Artichoke
Artichoke is a perennial plant, a valuable dietary product containing inulin, carotene, and vitamin C. The receptacle (bottom) and the fleshy base of the outer scales of large unblown inflorescences (baskets) are used for food. The tender flesh of the artichoke has a pleasant taste.
Artichoke is cultivated in southern regions Russia: in Krasnodar region and in the North Caucasus.
The plant forms large leaves and a highly developed vegetative mass. The stem reaches a height of 1.5-2 m.
The leaves are green, large, spiny, forming a large rosette. The flowers are bluish, collected in large spherical inflorescences-baskets with a diameter of 10-25 cm. The roots are highly developed, long, taprooted. In autumn, the above-ground part of the plant dies and is cut off. In spring, new stems develop from overwintering rhizomes.
Artichoke is thermophilic and tolerates only light frosts (down to −3°C). With careful insulation with manure, straw or leaves, the roots can overwinter in the soil. In the southern regions and Middle lane it is cultivated as a perennial cover crop, in the northern regions of the non-chernozem zone - only as an annual crop.
Accommodation. Artichokes are grown in fertile soils, rich in organic matter and well supplied with moisture. The area allocated for artichokes must be protected from northern winds.
This crop is propagated by seeds or seedlings. The artichoke grows in one place for up to 10 years.
Sowing. Seeds are sown in open ground only when the soil has warmed up well. Place 2-3 seeds in each hole. The distance between the rows is 70-90 cm, between the holes - 70 cm. The seedlings are thinned out, leaving no more than two plants in the hole. In an annual culture, the artichoke is grown from seedlings. To do this, wet seeds are germinated in sawdust for 5-6 days at a temperature of 20-25°C and, when they sprout, placed in damp sand and kept in the refrigerator at 0-2°C, preventing freezing. Seeds prepared in this way are sown in boxes or pots filled with fertile loose soil, optimal time sowing in the southern and central regions of the Non-Black Earth Region - the first half of March, in the northern - late March - early April.
In the phase of the first true leaf, seedlings dive into pots and continue to grow them at a temperature of 20-22°C on sunny days, and not lower than 15-17°C on cloudy days. When the threat of frost has passed, the plants are planted in rows on ridges at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other (for an annual crop) and 50-70 cm (for a perennial crop).
Care. Artichoke beds are periodically loosened, weeds are removed and the plants are watered in small doses during the dry period, and covered with covering material on cold nights.
When sown with non-vernalized seeds, plants begin to bloom only in the second year of life, when vegetative propagation and the seedling method with sowing vernalized seeds - in the first. To make the inflorescences larger, two or three peduncles are left on the plant, the remaining shoots are removed.
Cleaning inflorescences begin at the very beginning of flowering, when the scales in the central part open. The heads are cut off with part of the peduncle. At a low temperature they can be stored for four weeks, at a temperature of 0-1 ° - two to three months.
The most famous varieties are Maikopsky, Early, Violet and Laonsky.
Salad chicory
Lettuce chicory is a biennial plant. This is a valuable medicinal dietary product. Its leaves contain ascorbic acid, carotene, mineral salts, valuable carbohydrates inulin, intibin. The main advantage of chicory salad is that it produces produce throughout the winter, when there are no other fresh vegetables yet. In summer it is grown to produce large root crops for winter planting, from which cabbages are obtained in winter.
Heads of cabbage are rich in vitamins B, C, PP, carotene and other nutrients. The heads of cabbage are used for food, various salads are prepared from them, and they are used for stewing and boiling.
Growing. Salad chicory grows best in loamy soil. Before sowing, add 1.2 buckets of peat and 1 tbsp. spoon of nitrophoska and superphosphate per 1 m2. The bed is dug up, watered and grooves are made across it at a distance of 16-18 cm; seeds are sown in the grooves at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other and they are planted to a depth of 2-2.5 cm. In the phase of three to four leaves, the plants are thinned out, leaving a distance of 5-6 cm between them.
During the summer, caring for chicory consists of watering, weeding, and loosening.
Cleaning chicory salad starts on October 20-25. The root crops are dug up along with the tops, placed right there on the spot in a small pile with the tops facing out and left in the garden for 5-6 days. Before storing, the tops are cut 3 cm above the neck of the root crop so as not to damage the apical bud. Root vegetables are not removed from the ground; they are stored in a basement or other premises where the temperature should be 1-2°C.
Around the beginning of November, root crops are planted in boxes measuring 50x50x40 cm. The soil is prepared from peat, humus or turf soil with sawdust (1:1), or you can take sawdust or moss alone, etc. Moistened soil is poured into the box in a layer of 10-12 cm. For planting, root crops 12 cm long and 2-3 cm in diameter are selected. Up to 50 root crops are planted in the box using the bridge method so that their tops are at the same level. Then add soil to the top of the box - approximately 18-20 cm. Cover the top of the box with dark and damp material and place it in a room with a temperature of 12-14 ° C for 10-12 days.
For the next 12 days, chicory is grown at a temperature of 16-18°C. The entire period of growing cabbages from root vegetables in a box lasts 22-24 days, and during this time they grow weighing up to 150-180 g. Since the cabbages grow in the ground without daylight (in the dark), they are white in color. Heads of cabbage are cut from root vegetables and stored in plastic bags for 15 or more days in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0-1°C.
Varieties. There are no domestic varieties of salad chicory yet, so foreign varieties are used: Ekstrema for early forcing, Danish Witloof, Mitado for autumn-winter, Tardivo for late forcing.
Discussion
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Most people know chicory as a popular drink, which is made from the root of the plant of the same name. Chicory- a genus of herbs of the Astrov family, which grows wild almost everywhere in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries with a similar climate. This is - which has a hard stem, and quite large blue, white, purple or pink flowers. It is collected, prepared, and grown as a medicinal plant.
But, besides common chicory, there are also other types of chicory that are used as salad. For example, which will be discussed now.
Chicory salad , like other salads, is a valuable addition to our table. It contains carotene, vitamins C, PP, group B, mineral salts, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid and other substances beneficial to the body. One of its undeniable advantages is the possibility of obtaining products in winter, when there are no other fresh vegetables.
The fact is that it is produced in two stages: the first stage is the production of root vegetables, the second stage is the production of snow-white heads of cabbage from the root vegetables, which are eaten. And the second stage, unlike the first, must take place in the dark.
The first stage of growing chicory is obtaining root crops
It is best to grow chicory in loamy soil. in autumn the soil is prepared for spring planting chicory: add 1-2 buckets of rotted compost or manure, and also add 1-3 tablespoons of nitophoska and superphosphate per square meter.
in spring, around mid-May, water the area abundantly, make furrows, and plant chicory in rows. Distance between rows: 15 cm, Seeds are planted to a depth of 2−2.5 cm every 2−3 cm. A day before sowing, the seeds are soaked and placed in warm water to increase germination.
When the plants grow 3-4 true leaves, they are thinned out so that there is a distance of 5-6 cm between the shoots.
In the future, the plants are regularly looked after: watered, loosened to a shallow depth, and weeds are removed.
Clean up chicory salad in the second mid-October. Root crops are dug up along with the tops and piled with the tops facing out. After this, they are left in the garden for 5-6 days. The tops at this stage of growing chicory are inedible - they go into compost or as mulch for other plants.
After this, the tops are cut at a height of 3 cm above the neck, so as not to damage the apical bud. Root vegetables are not cleared from the soil. After this they are sent to storage. The temperature during storage should be 1-2 degrees. You can not store chicory root crops, but immediately proceed to the second stage.
The second stage of growing chicory is obtaining heads of cabbage
At the second stage, chicory root crops are planted in 50x50x40 cm containers in soil consisting of peat, rotted compost, or turf soil. You can also use a mixture of soil and sawdust, only sawdust or moss.
First, a layer of soil of 10−12 cm is poured. Then root crops 12−16 cm long and 2−4 cm in diameter are planted in a container so that the tops of the root crops are at the same level. About 40-50 pieces fit in a container. And after that, add soil so that its surface is 18-20 cm above the tops. The box is covered with an opaque material on top and placed in a room with a temperature of 10-14 degrees for 10-12 days. After this, the chicory is grown for another 12 days at a temperature of 15-20 degrees.
Thus, the entire period from planting to receiving the heads of cabbage lasts 22-24 days. During this time, the heads of cabbage manage to grow to a weight of 150−18 grams. They are white in color because they grew in the dark. When harvesting, the heads of cabbage are pulled out of the ground along with the root crops, cut off along with a part of the root crops, about 2 cm long, and sent for storage. You can store the heads of cabbage at a temperature of 0−1 degrees in plastic bags for 15−20 days.
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Witloof chicory lettuce (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial plant from the Asteraceae family. It is cultivated as a biennial. By the end of the first season, the witloof grows a powerful rosette of leaves and a root crop, which is later used for forcing heads of cabbage or eaten. The leaf blades are large, with wide petioles. Root crop of elongated conical shape, white. The tubers are used to prepare a coffee drink, and the leaves are a healthy component of fresh salad; they are also boiled and stewed.
Flowering occurs in the second year. An erect flowering stem 1.2-1.3 m high appears. Small flowers blue or white shades are collected in an inflorescence-basket. The fruit is a ribbed achene. Seed germination lasts for 3-4 years.
The culture was bred in late XIX century from chicory root. The name of the plant (Witloof) is translated from Flemish as “white leaf”. There are other names: white head, White leaf lettuce, Brussels chicory, lettuce endive.
Yield of endive witloof lettuce
The yield is quite high. With the help of forcing, you can get up to 1.5 kg of root crops from 1 m² of area. And when grown on a plot of the same unit of area - about 4.5 kg. Medium-sized root crops (diameter 3-5 cm) are best suited for forcing. Use the small ones to prepare a coffee drink: cut into circles, dry in the oven, grind into powder.
Useful properties
Due to the presence of intibin glycoside in witloof heads, its introduction into the diet helps to improve the functioning of the digestive organs, improves metabolism, and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the liver, kidneys, pancreas, hematopoietic organs, cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Witloof is very useful for people suffering from diabetes, it is a valuable dietary product, and has a choleretic, diuretic, and laxative effect.
Suitable place to grow endive lettuce
Illumination
To grow chicory witloof lettuce, you will need a well-lit area, cleared of weeds (especially malicious ones - sow thistle, wheatgrass).
Priming
The soil is nutritious (with a deep humus layer, containing a large amount of humus) with a pH of 6.5 and higher. Too light or heavy soil must be improved by adding compost or peat chips. Severe ones are contraindicated clay soils with close groundwater.
It is important not to apply fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, as this will provoke an active growth of green mass to the detriment of the formation of high-quality root crops.
Predecessors
It should not be cultivated on the site after growing lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. The best predecessors are cabbage, cucumbers, and legumes.
Witloof sowing time
Lettuce chicory is grown without seedlings. It will take 3-4 months for normal root crops to form. Seedlings are sown in late February-early March.
You can sow as soon as the soil warms up to 7-9 °C (depending on the region, this is the end of April-beginning of May, you can sow until the beginning of summer).
The optimal sowing time for witloof consumption is summer time is the first ten days of May, and for obtaining root crops for forcing - the third ten days of the same month.
Growing chicory salad from seeds in open ground
The agricultural technology for sowing and growing chicory salad from seeds is reminiscent of the rules for sowing and caring for. Witloof is sown in rows (distance between rows is 30-45 cm) or in two-line ribbons (20 cm between lines and 45 cm between ribbons).
The seeding depth should be 1-1.5 cm.
Expect emergence of seedlings in about 8 days. Loosen the soil and carry out the first thinning, leaving a distance of 7-8 cm between individual plants. Thin again until the leaves close (when a fairly large leaf rosette has developed), increasing the distance to 15-16 cm.
First of all, remove those plants whose leaf blades are pressed tightly to the ground - they have a tendency to set flowering stems prematurely.
Growing witloof from seeds to seedlings
Witloof is planted in late February - early March. It is advisable to plant one seed at a time in the cells of the cassettes to avoid picking, but it is also possible in seedling boxes with subsequent picking into separate cups.
Seedlings at the age of 30-35 days are transplanted by transshipment into open ground, maintaining a distance of 30 cm between plants.
Site preparation
Site preparation should begin in the fall. First, loosen it well to encourage the germination of weeds - remove them and treat them with a special preparation. After 10 days, dig to a depth of 25-30 cm and apply fertilizer. For 1 m² you will need: about 2 kg of manure or rotted compost, 2 tablespoons of dolomite flour, 1 tablespoon each of potassium salts and superphosphate, 1 glass of ash; for heavy loamy soils, you will additionally need 1 bucket of peat.
In early spring, when it is possible to enter the area, dig to the depth of a spade and add 1 teaspoon of ammonium nitrate per 1 m².
How to care for Witloof endive lettuce
Caring for Brussels chicory is not difficult. Watering, loosening the soil, and fertilizing will be required.
Watering and loosening the soil
Water regularly, but moderately; in severe drought, more abundantly. With a lack of moisture, the leaves become coarser and acquire a bitter taste. It is preferable to water in the morning, avoid getting water on the leaves.
Throughout, you should loosen the soil between the rows about 3-4 times; if the soil is heavy, loosen it after each watering or precipitation. It is especially important to loosen the soil well (to a depth of about 15 cm) before closing the leaves.
Top dressing
It is enough to feed a couple of times per season. Be sure to fertilize in early August. Use the solution: 1.5 tablespoons of nitrophoska per 10 liters of water (consumption per 3 m²).
Preparing for harvest
Three weeks before harvesting, chicory lettuce leaves must be bleached if you plan to eat them. The outer leaves are connected at the top, tied and the bed with witloof is covered with black lutrasil until harvesting. If the leaves are not bleached, they will be very bitter.
Harvesting and storing witloof root vegetables
The maturity of root crops is indicated by reddening of the leaves - this is the first signal that harvest time has come. However, if the weather is warm, you can wait, then the root vegetables will fill out a little more and gain weight.
When harvesting root crops, it is very important not to damage the roots, so as not to provoke disease and rot of the root crops during storage. Before trimming the leaves and storing them in the cellar, the root crops should be dried, leaving them on the field for several days, covered with straw or in a pile with the leaves facing out. The leaves are cut at a height of 3-5 cm above the top of the root crop. To obtain an even planting level, the roots are also trimmed, keeping the root length to approximately 20 cm.
If the roots are forked, do not be upset: they can also be used for forcing, although the volume of the harvest may be slightly reduced.
When and how to dig witloof
Digging up Brussels chicory roots should be done in the fall before the onset of heavy frost (around the end of September). Pick a nice day. Dig not with a shovel, but with a garden fork. The tops are not cut off immediately. Carry out an inspection: rotten and damaged root crops should be disposed of; too large ones are also not suitable for storage. High-quality ones are placed in a pile with the leaves facing out and stored for 7-8 days. This is done so that outflow occurs nutrients from leaves to roots.
How to dry and trim
But if the root crops are damaged by autumn frosts after digging, they will not be stored well in the future. It is better to keep it in a cool, dry room with good ventilation until the leaf blades wither. Then cut the tops 3-5 centimeters above the neck of the root crop to avoid damage to the apical buds. Sort the root vegetables by size: large (over 5 cm in diameter), medium (3-5 cm), small (up to 3 cm in diameter).
How to store
Witloof root vegetables prepared for storage
Then place them horizontally in boxes, sprinkle with dry sand, sawdust or peat. You can use sugar or flour bags, leaving the top open for ventilation. Optimal temperature air for storing witloof is in the range from 0 to +1 °C. Alternatively, place in the vegetable section of the refrigerator (although the temperature is higher there).
Wintering in open ground
Witloof is a cold-resistant plant: the root crops of some varieties successfully winter in open ground, withstanding frosts down to -30 ° C.
Diseases and pests
Overmoistening of the soil and high soil humidity can cause rot and powdery mildew.
Forcing endive lettuce
About a week before, vernalization is carried out: root crops are stored at a temperature of 32-34 degrees and high humidity. This will wake up the witloof and allow you to quickly get fresh, juicy leaf heads. If you plant directly from storage, the green harvest will be much smaller. For forcing, select suitable root crops: without horizontal sockets leaves and peduncles.
You will also need:
- lightproof container 40-50 cm high (a wooden box is perfect, but in room conditions the container must be waterproof - a plastic container, a bucket);
- non-woven black covering material or lightproof cover;
- peat or sand to fill the container.
Pour soil onto the bottom, place the root crops close to each other, fill the cracks and voids with the same substrate. The tops should be at the same level - too long ones can be trimmed.
Having reached the middle of the container in height, water the root vegetables, then add soil to the very top.
Cover the top non-woven material or a lid - forcing should take place in the dark so that the heads of cabbage remain whitish. If they turn green, the taste will become bitter.
Maintain the air temperature within 7-8 °C, after 10 days move to a warmer place - the air temperature is in the range of 14-18 °C. This way the forcing process will speed up, but the heads of cabbage will be looser. Forcing lasts about 15-20 days. Cut off the finished heads of cabbage with the top of the root so that they do not crumble. When stored in the refrigerator, they stay fresh for about 3 weeks.
Another method of forcing. A wooden box is buried in a greenhouse or hotbed. The tubers are placed close to each other, watered and covered with a layer of soil of about 25 cm (sand, peat, ordinary garden soil, sawdust) or covered with film. The air temperature should be about 10 °C. The heads of cabbage will reach the surface of the covering layer in 25-30 days.
To get fresh witloof leaves early spring, forcing is carried out in open ground. In mid-autumn, root crops are planted in beds and covered with a layer of peat about 20 cm.
Varieties of endive witloof lettuce with photos and names
Domestic varieties:
The variety is grown both without seedlings and in seedlings. Seedlings are sown in February-March. Seeds are planted in the ground in April-June. 3 weeks before harvesting, the leaves are tied and covered with opaque agrofibre for bleaching. If this is not done, the leaves will become very bitter.
Cone - white root vegetables, 15-20 cm long, diameter - about 3.5 cm. The head is elliptical in shape with juicy pulp. The period from the appearance of mass shoots to technical maturity is 98-114 days. The forcing period is 17-30 days. Forcing is carried out in December-January in a dark room with or without covering with soil substrate. When forcing, maintain a constant air temperature of no lower than 7 °C and no higher than 16 °C. Heads of cabbage are harvested when they reach a height of 15 cm.
Rocket - the shape of the root crop is elongated-conical, gaining weight up to 250 g. The head of cabbage is elongated-ovoid in shape, up to 12 cm high, diameter - 5 cm, dense. The mass of the pulp is 85-100 g. It has more long term ripening: the period from the appearance of sprouts to technical maturity is 130-155 days, the forcing period is about 30 days.
Foreign varieties:
- For early forcing: Exterella, Express.
- For autumn-winter: Mitado, Danish Witloof.
- For later: Tardivo, Blanca, Productiva.
Witloof with red and yellow heads of cabbage was bred through hybridization.
Culinary tricks for preparing endive salad
If the endive salad is bitter
To remove bitterness, witloof leaves are placed in boiling water for 1 minute or soaked in salted water for 2-3 hours.
Cooking boiled and stewed witloof
The heads of cabbage are cut, sprinkled with grated cheese and stewed in butter or milk; topped with meat sauce and baked with ham and cheese.
Witloof in Flemish
Peel the apples and cut into slices, add raisins and simmer in oil. Next, chop the chicory salad, place it in a baking container as the first layer, then a layer of apples with raisins, pour over white wine, then slices of boiled meat or ham. Cover with a lid and bake for 25 minutes at 180°C.
Are chicory salad and chicory salad the same thing or not? Chicory salad, or chicory salad, is the name given to cultivated forms of common chicory, a plant widespread in wildlife Russia. There are two types of endive lettuce varieties: witloof (when forced, it grows as heads of cabbage) and endive (synonymous with frize, which grows as rosettes).
Chicory - a genus of biennials or perennial plants, including two cultivated species and from four to six wild ones. Wild chicory grows in meadows, forest edges, fallow lands, wastelands, field edges, near roads and ditches. Its roots are used as a means to increase appetite and improve digestion; A decoction of the roots has antimicrobial and astringent properties.
In the 19th century Western Europe, especially in Belgium and France, a popular winter delicacy were fresh leaves dandelion and chicory, the forcing of which was carried out in complete darkness. Such bleached leaves had a pleasant taste - unlike green ones, which had a pronounced bitterness. One observant gardener, while forcing chicory, noticed and selected several plants that, instead of an open rosette, formed closed elongated bunches. Breeders have been actively involved in them and have developed varieties with wide petioles of leaves rolled into tight, juicy heads of cabbage. They were called "witloof", which means "white sheet" in Flemish, and quickly became a favorite among customers. Under the name “Brussels chicory salad,” witloof began to be supplied to other countries, since its dense heads tolerate transportation well and can be stored for about a month. Later, our compatriots became convinced that witloof is perfectly suited to the northern climate and is easy to grow, despite the fact that unusual methods are used.
In the 70s of the last century, witloof attracted the attention of the Soviet authorities (in addition to vitamins and minerals, it contains biologically active substances inulin and intibin, which improve digestion, liver function and the cardiovascular system). To improve the health of the population, it was proposed to grow witloof root crops on collective farm fields and sell them for forcing at home. At the Moscow Institute of Agricultural Engineers named after. V.P. Goryachkin created a plant plant for home use, in which root vegetables were wrapped in blotting paper and inserted into holder cells. The paper, like a wick, took water from the pan, and distillation proceeded hydroponically. The grandiose project failed economic reasons, but the forcing method, tested by scientists, has the right to life.
Chicory is moisture-loving and prefers fertile soil. They are sown in the last ten days of May; if sown earlier, the plant may go into decline by autumn.
Root crops are harvested before frost sets in. The tops are cut at a height of 2-3 cm so as not to damage the growing point. Forcing can begin in a month. Before this, root vegetables are stored in the basement at a temperature of 1-2°C.
For forcing at home, a few centimeters of peat are poured into deep boxes or buckets and the root crops are planted close to each other. They are sprinkled with earth on top and watered in 2-3 doses. The boxes are placed in a dark place with a temperature of 10-12°C. After a week, it can be increased, but not more than 15-18°C, otherwise the leaves will become bitter. The heads of cabbage are ready for consumption a month after the start of distillation. They are cut with part of the root crop and stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
In the garden, greens are grown for one season; in winter they are forced.
Moisture-loving, prefers fertile soil.
