How to Grow Chicory in Your Garden

About How to Grow Chicory

Chicory plants, or chicons, are not one of the more popular 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. Are you ready to give chicory a try in your vegetable garden? Use this “How to Grow Chicory” guide.

Varieties of Chicory

Forced – Put roots in the dark and harvest the white, closely bunched leaves.
Non-forcing – Harvest the leafy heads in the fall.

Chicory Plant Specifications

Day to Harvest: Begin to harvest leaves 50 – 60 days after planting. Begin to harvest roots just before the first frost in yur area.

Plant height: Mature plants grow two to five feet tall.

Light Needs: Full sunlight.

Ideal Soil pH: 5.0-6.5. See Soil pH of other vegetables

Plant Hardiness Zones: 3 – 10

Deer Resistant? No.

Plant Type: Short-lived perennial, 3 to 7 years.

Native To: Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia.

Botanical Name: Cichorium intybus

Nutrition Facts

This nutrient-rich plant offers many health benefits. As a result, and chicory to the daily diet for you and your family.

One mature root has approximately:

43 calories
10.5 g carbs
0 g cholesterol
0.1 g fat
0.9 g fiber
0.8 g protein
30 mg sodium

Did You Know? Chicory root extract helps to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

How to Grow Chicory - Light Requirements

Chicory plants are sun lovers. Thus, select a growing location where they will receive six to eight hours or more of full, bright sunlight.

The plants tolerate a little partial shade. However, too little sunlight results in less plant health and vigor. As a result, the leaves are fewer and smaller. The roots grow smaller, too.

How to Grow Chicory

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

Growing Chicory plants is easy. It grows well 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.

Also, See:

Plant Problems

Soil Temperatures – Ideal germination temperature by vegetable.

Insects and Pests

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

Plant Disease

Wilting and summer rot from heat and humidity can occur.

How to Grow Chicory- Harvest Time

Harvest Chicory leaves as they leaf reaches sizable portions to use. Harvest the roots when they reach five to seven inches long..

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 by cutting them just below the surface.