Witloof chicory or endive (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum), also called chicon in northern France and Belgium, is a chicory grown for its leaves. But not its first bright green leaves in your vegetable patch. No, no... endive or chicon, once pulled from the ground and prepared, is replanted in darkness. This is called forcing. It is this second production of very tightly packed leaves that gives the characteristic pale yellow-white colour: chicon is finally ready to be harvested and eaten raw, in a gratin, braised...
Necessary equipment
- rake
- hand fork
- biofork or aerofork (facultative) to loosen without turning the soil
- hoe with a blade to dig the furrow
- garden line
- watering can
- seed sower (facultative)
When to sow endive?
Endives are sown in May–June, directly outdoors in the vegetable patch
Witloof chicory
How to sow endive?
- Sow endive seeds in sun or partial shade in well-prepared soil: weeded, loosened and raked;
- Seeds are sown thinly in a furrow 1 cm deep on ranks spaced 30 cm apart;
- Close the furrow with the rake and press lightly with its back;
- Seeds germinate in only 3 to 5 days at 20 °C;
- After 3 to 4 weeks of growth, plants are well developed (stage 3–4 leaves). Then thin out (remove the plant) to keep only one plant every 15 cm;
- Water with a fine spray.
In very heavy, clay soil, you can sow chicons on a ridge. This encourages long, straight roots that are easier to pull out.
Once seedlings have emerged and thinning is done, Witloof chicory requires no specific maintenance, apart from hoeing, weeding and regular watering. For more on growing endive, follow Ingrid’s advice: Succeeding in growing chicory.
Once forced, endive turns pale
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