Tired of the same old lettuce in your winter salad? Try a
little Cichorium endivia.
Endive and escarole, the common names for Cichorium
endivia, are very common
in the islands of the Mediterranean and in Greece. They are
related hardy annual
vegetables.
Endive and escarole are delicacies when blanched and used for
salads or as a garnish.
The main difference between them is that endive has curled,
fine-cut leaves while
escarole has broad, flat leaves. Both are cool-season plants
that grow well in the spring
and better in the fall. Although endive is produced in Florida,
it is grown as a winter
vegetable.
What are the best varieties to grow in Georgia?
- Full Heart Batavian (escarole) has
upright broad, outer leaves and
smooth, closely bunched center leaves that are creamy
yellow. It takes 85 days to mature. - Green Curled has dark, finely cut and
curled, fringed leaves and green,
fleshy midribs. It takes 95 days to mature. - Salad King has dark green, white-ribbed
leaves. It’s tolerant to hot
weather (less tip-burn and bolting) and frost. It takes 95
days to mature. - Frisan is fall endive. The heads measure
up to 17 inches across and
have well-filled, blanched centers. It’s very hardy and
takes 98 days to mature.
Endive and escarole don’t do well in heat. They have to be
grown as an early-spring or
fall crop. They grow much the way lettuce does, responding well
to fertile soil, growing
temperatures between 60 and 70 and a uniform moisture supply.
Start plants inside in late February and transplant them into
the garden in early
April. Plant the seeds a quarter-inch deep in a container of
sterile soil or directly into
peat pellets. When the seedlings are less than one inch high,
space them 1 1/2 to 2 inches
apart in a flat.
The seedlings are ready to plant in the garden when they are
2 1/2 to 3 inches high.
Use a starter fertilizer solution to get a fast start.
You can plant seed directly into the garden in mid-March to
early April. Plant them a
quarter-inch deep in rows 18 to 24 inches apart. When the
seedlings are 1 inch high, thin
or transplant 9 to 12 inches apart.
Water often during the hot summer. Endive is very hardy and
will withstand frost
through early winter.
Unless you blanch them, the spreading plants are likely to be
bitter. When you keep
sunlight from the center leaves, their green color is reduced,
bitterness decreased and
texture and flavor are improved.
Blanch heads after the leaves spread enough to touch the next
plant. Tie the tops of
the outermost leaves together as the heads develop.
Make sure that the plants are dry before tying the leaves. If
the plant isn’t dry, the
inner leaves may rot. Blanching requires two to three weeks, and
several plants may be
blanched at one time.
After the blanched heads have developed, cut the plants at
ground level. If the weather
turns very hot in the summer or you expect a hard freeze in the
winter, cut the heads.
Wash them and let them drip dry. Then store them in a plastic
bag in the refrigerator.
Discard the tough outer leaves.
