It is believed that the plant’s homeland is Asian and African countries, from where the culture spread throughout Egypt and the Mediterranean. In Western Europe, the plant began to gain popularity only in the 16-17th century.
Unlike regular leaves, chicory lettuce leaves have a higher bitterness content due to the presence of a substance called intibin, which keeps the body in good shape and improves appetite and digestion. The culture is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, and therefore has a positive effect on the nervous system, promotes metabolism, liver function, circulatory and choleretic systems. actively used in the diet of diabetics. Fresh green parts of the plant are eaten, which are also suitable for stewing and cooking. Some varieties of chicory salad produce root vegetables that are used to make a coffee substitute, chicory.
Endive salad: characteristics and varieties
Chicory lettuce belongs to the Aster family of the wild chicory genus (Cycorium). There are several forms belonging to the same botanical species, which form a developed leaf rosette:
- Escarole (Cyrconium endivia latifolia) - a rosette formed from whole, petiolate leaves with straight or wavy edges. Escarole lettuce (white chicory) is a biennial crop that produces a large, loose head of leaves, the number of which reaches 85 or more. The shape of the leaves is rounded and wide, the plate is solid with smooth or wavy edges. Interestingly, large leaves are formed in late-ripening varieties. The color of lettuce leaves depends on the varietal group and varies from pale yellow to rich green. The roots are not large, woody and branched. 2-3 months after the appearance of the first shoots, a tall, even peduncle is formed, and after another month the lettuce begins to bloom pink or blue.
- Endive (Cyrconium endivia crispa) - has strongly dissected, curly leaves.
- Witloof (Cyrconium intybus) is a perennial crop that, by the end of the first year of life, forms not only lush rosettes of edible leaves, but also fleshy white roots suitable for forcing winter bleached lettuce leaves. The following year the plant blooms with bluish flowers, producing long flower arrows. Varietal groups of witloof have differences in the timing of forcing and the color of the leaves, which varies from white to red and yellow shades.
Endive lettuce is considered a biennial or perennial crop, however, it is often grown as an annual. The plant forms a developed basal rosette of leaves and a branched one. The stem leaf is sessile with ears and covers the stem. Chicory lettuces have erect stems that reach a meter in height. It blooms with light blue flowers, which are collected in basket-like inflorescences. In escarole they are large, and in endive they are small.
Plants produce fruits that look like silver-gray ribbed elongated achenes.
The culture is resistant to frost and can withstand temperature drops of up to three degrees. But it should be remembered that low temperatures during early spring planting provoke an early release of color. Varieties with pronounced red pigmentation of leaves are more resistant to frost.
It is recommended to grow chicory salads in spring or autumn, when daylight hours are short enough. In longer summer daylight hours, color formation accelerates. Fertile soil with high drainage capacity is suitable.
Growing lettuce: propagation and planting
Sowing seeds for seedlings:
- Seedlings begin to be sown in late winter or early spring. And place it in a dark place with a temperature of at least 10 degrees so that the lettuce does not bloom ahead of time.
- With the appearance of the first pair of leaves, it is necessary to thin out, leaving an interval between shoots of about 10 cm. And when the diameter of the leaf rosettes grows to 24-30 cm, the plantings should be thinned out again.
- The time for growing seedlings is approximately 1-1.5 months.
- Seeds can be sown using tape and row methods, adhering to a row and tape spacing of 0.5 meters, and a row spacing of 35 cm.
High-quality seedlings should have 2-3 pairs of healthy leaves. It is worth remembering that there is no need to deepen the seedlings - the base of the leaf rosette must be left on the surface. After planting, the lettuce is watered well. Planting care involves loosening, which must be done with extreme caution so as not to damage the roots. The best option would be seedlings as needed.
Chicory salads are quite demanding; light soil well fertilized with humus suits them.
Preparatory excavation work begins in the fall. The soil needs to be dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, while simultaneously adding compost (4-5 kg), superphosphate and lime (60 g each) to each square meter. If the soil is heavy, it is additionally necessary to add sawdust or sand (500 g per m2), which are treated with urea. Before planting the crop, the soil is dug up again and ammonia sulfur is added (10-15 g per 1 m2).
When watering, you must ensure that moisture does not get into the center of the leaves, otherwise rotting may begin. After irrigation activities and rains, the soil needs to be loosened so that a crust does not form. plants are rarely carried out. Usually the basics are sufficient, provided that the soil preparation was carried out according to all the rules.
Bleaching of chicory lettuce leaves is carried out to eliminate bitterness:
- 3 months after sowing or planting, the leaves of the crop are carefully collected in a bunch and tied with twine or ribbon, so that the lower leaves do not come into contact with the soil, otherwise the process of rotting may begin.
- It is necessary to build a shading shelter on top - stretch a dark film or cover it with a box. The main thing is that the plant should not be exposed to sunlight, but there should be holes for ventilation.
- Manipulations should be carried out in dry weather and be sure to inspect the leaves for the presence of wet drops. The whitening process takes about two weeks.
- The safety of bleached leaves is quite low, so it is recommended to carry out the procedure in stages, as needed.
- Watering during the bleaching process is carried out extremely carefully - moisture should not get on the leaves.
Late varieties of endive lettuce can be stored in beds until the onset of frost. If this option is not suitable for various reasons, then the plants are dug up along with the roots and a clod of earth. The dug up lettuce is placed in a damp, fairly cool room, deepened into damp sand.
Chicory salad intended for storage does not need to be bleached; in a dark storage it will do this on its own.
During storage, it is necessary to ventilate and inspect the leaves, which are regularly collected and the withered ones are removed. Cut lettuce leaves as close to the ground as possible.
Diseases and pests
Like all representatives of the flora, endive salads are also susceptible to various diseases and attacks by harmful insects. Lettuce diseases:
- Gray and white rot can affect all parts of the plant above the ground. Signs of infection are the appearance of brown or watery-white spots on the leaves. When affected by gray mold, the infection enters the leaf pockets (sinuses) and causes rotting. And with white rot, the leaves become covered with a white coating of fungal spores. To prevent disease, you should be careful not to plant lettuce in heavy acidic soils and not to overdo it with the application of nitrogen.
- can affect any parts of the plant that are covered with a terry coating. The development of the lettuce bush is suspended. It is especially difficult for the plant to tolerate infection during the ripening period. It is necessary to adhere to the correct change of crops. Affected weakened leaves are removed and destroyed. Plant residues after harvesting are removed from the field and destroyed.
- Edge burn is a plant affected by rot, which quickly spreads to neighboring plants and can ruin half the crop. The disease provokes oversaturation of the soil with micronutrients.
Endive salads can be attacked by stem lettuce aphids, lettuce flies and cabbage psyllids, which are controlled with systemic insecticides.
More information can be found in the video:
Those who sowed chicory in the spring need to monitor how quickly the plant has grown in August. If development is weak, this indicates a lack of useful nutrients in the soil and the need for fertilizing. In addition, poor growth may be a signal of errors in care.
Features of growing chicory salad
Lettuce chicory, chicory lettuce, witloof - all these are names of the same vegetable plant, with the only caveat that witloof is the name of one of the varieties. But since it is the main and most common, in colloquial speech it has already become a common noun and is used to generally refer to endive salad.Witloof is a biennial plant. Salad chicory is grown in open ground and is also used for forcing greens in winter. In the first year after sowing, a root crop is formed, and in the second year it blooms and produces seeds.
The shoots that are broken off at the root are eaten. They have a delicate taste that combines sweet notes and a pleasant spicy spiciness. Its chopped heads go well in fresh salads with apples, oranges, and radishes. Its leaves can be sautéed and grilled, and this green fits well in sauté recipes with other vegetables.
Requirements of endive lettuce for soils
Chicory lettuce is a cold-resistant plant. However, it would be a stretch to call it unpretentious. To get a rich harvest, highly fertile land must be allocated for planting. The optimal soil types are loam and sandy loam. The soil needs to be kept loose and watered regularly - witloof is very moisture-loving.
Nutrient-poor soil is fertilized in the fall or spring immediately before planting. Compost or rotted manure, as well as mineral supplements, are suitable for this. For autumn digging, use the following combination:
compost or humus – 5-6 kg per 1 square meter;
potash fertilizers - 10 g for the same area.
For spring digging you will need the following combination of mineral fertilizers:
nitrogen – 6 g per 1 square meter;
phosphorus - 6 g for the same area.
Sowing chicory and caring for the beds
Before forming the beds, the soil surface must be thoroughly loosened. In a bed 1 meter wide, seeds are sown in three rows. With such sowing, the row spacing as the plants develop will be approximately 25-30 cm. To ensure optimal nutrition area, in the row between individual specimens of lettuce chicory the distance should be at least 5 cm. To achieve this, after the appearance of dense shoots, they will need to be thinned out. Thus, for 1 sq. m. beds can be grown up to 80 pcs. vegetables
For the future, you should remember that it is not advisable to sow chicory too early. If you don’t know this and make such a mistake, then the vegetables will bloom in the first year of sowing, and this will negatively affect the yield of root crops. Therefore, you need to plan sowing no earlier than the second ten days of May.
Caring for plants involves regularly loosening the soil and watering the beds. As necessary, during the growing season, lettuce chicory is fed. In August, the beds are fertilized with ammonium nitrate.
Preparation and storage of endive salad
Harvesting root crops for the winter is carried out in late autumn. Digging up witloof roots with a pitchfork. Before being sent for storage, it must be inspected for suitability and selected specimens must be processed. Root vegetables should not be too thin and forked - such ones are discarded. A good root crop will be about 3-4 cm in diameter, the standard length of the underground part of the plant is about 25 cm. The tops and thin lower root shoots are cut off. Can be stored in containers and plastic bags at a constant temperature of about +1...+2°C. Optimal storage conditions are in boxes filled with dry sand. During the winter months, these root crops are also used for forcing greens indoors.Witloof means "white sheet" in French. That's what they call it chicory salad- a promising forcing crop, still little known to gardeners. Witloof contains vitamins B1, B2, C, carotene, is rich in carbohydrates, as well as inulin, which is important for metabolism in the body, especially in diabetes.
Beneficial properties of chicory salad
Lettuce chicory contains a glycoside called intibin, which gives the leaves a bitter taste. It is this spicy bitterness that improves the functioning of the digestive organs, liver, gall bladder and pancreas, has a beneficial effect on the hematopoietic organs, the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, and overall metabolism.
The cell juice of chicory salad contains a significant amount of potassium salts, which help remove water from the body, and magnesium, which weakens vascular spasms and reduces the content of calcium and iron. Witloof has a beneficial effect on the absorption of foods of animal origin, stimulates appetite, and regulates the activity of the digestive organs. This salad is a source of potassium nitrates, sulfates and hydrochlorides, which have a beneficial effect on kidney activity.
Using chicory roots and heads
Coffee enriched with chicory promotes better blood flow, dissolves and removes gallstones, gives a person vigor, and reduces insomnia.
I must say that high nutritional and healing properties of chicory known to people since time immemorial. Chicory roots are used for food and medicinal purposes, both in its pure form by boiling, brewing and preparing extracts, and in a mixture with other drinks - coffee, cocktails.
Heads of chicory salad are used for preparing vegetable dishes. Moreover, they are eaten separately or with grated carrots, apples, lemon, horseradish, and green vegetables. Seasoning - salt, sour cream, mayonnaise, vegetable oil, sometimes vinegar.
Origin and distribution of chicory salad
From a botanical point of view, chicory is a close relative of dandelion. Ordinary root chicory has been bred for many years in the Rostov district of the Yaroslavl region for the coffee industry. It is suitable for salads and as a fodder plant. Chicory root originated from a wild plant that is ubiquitous in Europe. Varieties of root chicory - Brunswick, Rostov, Gavrilov-Yamsky, Magdeburg. Witloof chicory is created on the basis of the widespread Magdeburg variety. There are also leaf forms of this type of chicory.
Another type of chicory is endive, or escarole, which is cultivated mainly in Western Europe as a salad plant.
In the first year, lettuce chicory produces whitish root vegetables with a large rosette of elongated dark green leaves. In the second year, it forms a flowering stem on which seeds are formed. When forced, root crops produce a tasty salad in the form of elongated heads weighing 50-300 g, depending on the size of the root crops used.
People have known chicory salad for a long time. It is mentioned by ancient authors - Fsophrastus, Pliny, Palladius, Horace and Columella. It was cultivated in Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt. True, only the leaves of the grown chicory were used for making medicine and for food. In European countries, chicory gained recognition in the 15th-16th centuries, and it was used both for salad and for making a coffee drink.
Over the past 30 years, chicory salad has become widespread in Europe and America, becoming an industrial crop there. In France alone, witloof roots are grown on an area of more than 40 thousand hectares, and it is consumed by the majority of the country's residents.
In Russia, chicory salad has been known for a long time. But decades passed, and this culture spread poorly, and essentially no one dealt with it until the 60s of this century. I was scared off by the significant amount of manual labor required to cultivate the roots, and most importantly, by the unusual nature of the vegetable.
Witloof cultivation and care
Salad chicory root crops are grown in the same way as table carrots. Soils for chicory are chosen that are unclogged, light, and rich in organic matter. Medium loams or sandy loam soils well seasoned with organic or mineral fertilizers are suitable for this. Seeds are sown in early spring at the rate of 0.2-0.3 g per 1 m2. They are planted to a depth of 0.5-1.5 cm. Thus, 40-50 plants will be placed per 1 m2.
Maintenance comes down mainly to loosening the soil and killing weeds. If the crop is thickened, a breakthrough is carried out. Root crops are harvested in late autumn, before frost sets in.
Forcing chicory salad
Before forcing, root crops are stored in damp sand or in boxes at a temperature of 1-2° above zero. Forcing carried out over several periods, up to April. For forcing, roots from 2 to 5 cm in diameter are selected.
How is chicory forced? Several methods are used for this. The most common is based on cultivation chicory salad in a dark room in winter, and in spring - in greenhouses and in a hotbed area.
The technology of forcing with “soil culture” is as follows. Root crops are planted in rows in a prepared pit 20-25 cm deep, vertically or slightly in an inclined position, almost close to each other (250-400 pieces per 1 m2), sprinkling each row of roots with earth. To make planting easier, holes are first made in the loosened soil with a peg (hole maker). After this, the root vegetables are watered abundantly and covered with a layer of earth about 20 cm thick. One watering is enough to form juicy heads of lettuce. After filling with soil, you can no longer water the roots, otherwise the resulting heads of lettuce will spoil. The soil mixture consists of peat, sand and other components. This backfill will protect the heads of cabbage from light. Filling with a dense mixture will allow you to get tight, closed heads of cabbage, which cannot be achieved when filling with peat or sawdust.
An even better effect is achieved by pre-planting irrigation of the furrows, saturating the soil to full moisture capacity, after which the roots are easily pressed into the soil, softened to a mushy state. As soon as the water is absorbed, the tops of the root crops are covered with a 20-centimeter layer of dry soil mixture.
Witloof is also expelled in special boxes. At the same time, the temperature is maintained at 12-18°. The heads of cabbage will be ready for harvesting 25-30 days after planting. At home, it is convenient to set up the forcing of chicory salad in special plants.
The planter consists of a tray with side walls 5-8 cm high and a case installed in a tray measuring 20x25 cm and 40 cm high (the size and number of cases may vary), protecting root crops from light. Water is poured into the tray, and the root crops are placed tightly inside the case, then covered with a layer of soil of about 20 cm. Before planting, the root crops are cut from below so that they have the same length, and after planting their growth points are at the same level. For distillation of chicory salad light is not needed, the only requirement is warmth, within 15-20° above zero. After 20-25 days, forcing ends. The case is removed, and the heads of cabbage, separated from the root vegetables, are ready for use. The herb can be used again.
Forcing lettuce at home can also be done in small detachable boxes. First, the collected boxes are filled halfway with soil (a 1:1 mixture of soil and peat). Then the planted root crops are watered and covered with a soil layer of 15-20 cm. The plant box is placed in a convenient place. As the tops of the lettuce begin to appear, the top of the box is removed, the heads of cabbage are freed from the soil mixture and separated from the root crops.
Varieties of salad chicory
Currently, scientists have derived several varieties of chicory salad. Such varieties as Mitado, Terdivo, Tonko have already become famous. Issues of selection and seed production of lettuce chicory are dealt with by VNIISSOK near Moscow (p/o Lesnoy Gorodok, Odintsovo district). The Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Farming, located in Mytishchi, Moscow Region, is engaged in methods of growing witloof root crops for forcing.
Lettuce chicory for amateur gardens is a new crop. Curious vegetable growers are quite capable of mastering it and promoting it into widespread practice. Foreign experience shows that this plant has great potential. To open them and use them productively is the work of the masters of the ridges. And there are so many of them.
Based on materials from the magazine "Homestead Farming", V. Velik, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, I. Viruchenko, agronomist of the Scientific Research Institute of Economy, Mytishchi, Moscow region, 1982.
More and more often we have to try vegetable crops that are not very common in our area - asparagus, artichoke, chicory. 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, tender 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: it serves, helps with kidney diseases, heart disease, 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 or close 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, mineral fertilizers are added: 1 tbsp. spoon (25 g) of "Agricola for root vegetables" or nitrophoska per 1 m 2.
Growing. Asparagus is grown mainly by seedlings. 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 layer of humus of 1 cm. 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 with 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, the soil is carefully raked away from the shoots and cut out with a sharp knife, and the holes are filled back up. 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 the southern regions of Russia: in the Krasnodar Territory and the North Caucasus.
The plant produces 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 in the central zone 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. The seeds prepared in this way are sown in boxes or pots filled with fertile loose soil; the optimal sowing time in the southern and central regions of the Non-Black Earth Region is the first half of March, in the northern regions - the end of March - the beginning of April.
In the phase of the first true leaf, the 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; with vegetative propagation and the seedling method with sowing with vernalized seeds - in the first. To make the inflorescences larger, two or three peduncles are left on the plant, the remaining shoots are removed.
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. It is grown in summer to produce large root crops for winter planting, from which cabbages are produced 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 into the grooves at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other and 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 heads of root crops in a box lasts 22-24 days, and during this time they grow weighing up to 150-180 g. Since the heads 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.
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Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. There are no domestic varieties of salad chicory yet, so they use foreign varieties: Ekstrema for early forcing, Danish Witloof, Mitado - for autumn-winter, Tardivo... Say a word about cyclamen.
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. Asparagus is a dioecious plant: male specimens are more productive and early ripening than female specimens. Salads, side dishes, soups are prepared from asparagus shoots, they are consumed boiled, stewed, fried and...
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. Asparagus is a dioecious plant: male specimens are more productive and early ripening than female specimens. About how not to catch rotavirus on vacation. We went with our children three times to... Asparagus - where to buy in Moscow?
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. How to properly prepare the soil for vegetable shoots and vegetable inflorescences? Oktyabrina Ganichkina advises. Vegetables for children in the country: what to plant? Expelled from the institute. We advise you to read: how to grow asparagus in the country...
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. There are no domestic varieties of salad chicory yet, so they use foreign varieties: Ekstrema for early forcing, Danish Witloof, Mitado - for autumn-winter, Tardivo... Say a word about cyclamen.
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. asparagus. Caring for indoor plants: planting, watering, fertilizing, flowers, cacti. asparagus.
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. Asparagus is a perennial plant that produces a fleshy rhizome and thick white roots that store nutrients. I have fluffy asparagus growing. I grew it myself from a seed.
Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. There are no domestic varieties of salad chicory yet, so they use foreign varieties: Ekstrema for early forcing, Danish Witloof, Mitado - for autumn-winter, Tardivo... Say a word about cyclamen.
Asparagus crescent. Flower care.. Asparagus, artichoke, chicory - growing and care. Asparagus is a perennial plant that produces a fleshy rhizome and thick white roots that store nutrients.
Are chicory salad and chicory salad the same thing or not? Chicory salad, or lettuce chicory, is the name given to cultivated forms of common chicory, a plant widely distributed in the wild nature of Russia. There are two types of endive lettuce: witloof (when forced, it grows as heads of cabbage) and endive (synonymous with frize, which grows as rosettes).
Chicory - a genus of biennial 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 in Western Europe, especially in Belgium and France, fresh dandelion and chicory leaves, distilled in complete darkness, were a popular winter delicacy. 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 for economic reasons, but the distillation 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.
