The Gardener's Network
Nav Menu

Holiday Insights






Affordable Greenhouses





Amazon.com
Search for:
Flowers
Annuals
Perennials
Bulbs

How to Grow Chickory

Chickory, or chicons, are not one of the more popular of vegetables in the home garden. Suffice it to say their tart, bitter taste is not for everyone. There is little written about them. They are however, an interesting vegetable, and are used in salads and a variety of recipes around the world.


Varieties:

  • Forced- Put roots in the dark and harvest the white, closely bunched leaves.

  • Non-forcing- Harvest the leafy heads in the fall.


Planting:


Thinly sow seeds 1/4 inch deep, in rows spaced about a 1 1/2 feet apart. Thin to one every 6-9 inches.


Care and Maintenance:


Growing Chickory is easy. Chickory will grow in sunny to partly sunny locations. They will tolerate poor soils, but respond well to rich compost.

Make sure to provide ample water to keep the soil moist.


Days to Maturity:

80 to 90 days.


Insects and Pests:


Chickory is susceptible to the same insects as the lettuce family. This includes snails and slugs, aphids, and a variety of cut worms and moth caterpillars.


Disease:


Wilting and summer rot from heat and humidity can occur.


Harvesting:


Harvest leaf Chickory as the leaf reaches sizable portions. Harvest the head before frost.

To grow the blanched chicons, harvest the roots, before frost. Place in a container covered by sand, in a dark room. Harvest tight yellow-white heads after they reach 6-7 inches, cutting them just below the surface.


Hardiness:


Like lettuce, Chicory is a tender vegetable. Plant just before the last spring frost date and harvest before the first fall frost.


More Information:

Our Garden Recipe Collection

Buy Vegetable Seeds Top quality Ferry Morse and Lilly Miller seeds, America's oldest seed company with their famous "guarantee to grow". Better quality, better prices.

Pest Netting - Keep rabbits, deer, and other foraging animals out!

Are Deer, Bunnies or birds feasting on your plants?

The free meal is over.....period!

Buy the Buffet Buster now!

Shop For:

Gardening:
Flower Seeds
Vegetable Seeds

Heirloom Seeds
Herb Seeds
Organic Seed / Supply

Flower Bulbs
Coldframes
Composters
Garden Fertilizers
Greenhouses
Houseplants
Planters
Raised Beds
Garden Supplies

Yard & Deck:
Grills
Hammocks
Hose Carts/Reels
Outdoor Storage
Solar Lights
Pest Control

Other:
Food Processing
Kitchen/Party Supply


| Home | A to Z's of Growing | Flowers | Fruit | Bulbs | Vegetables | Lawncare | Pumpkins | Houseplants |
| Shopping |
Herbs | Organic | Plant Problems | Bushes 'n Shrubs | Trees | 4 the Birds | Garden Recipes |


Copyright 1999 - 2013 © Premier Star Company