Endive ( Cichorium intybus ), chicory in chili or Brussels chicory as we say among our Belgian neighbors, is not harvested as we find it on the markets, ready to be cooked. These beautiful white pointed “apples” with yellow edges result from what is called endive forcing: what is it and how do you go about growing endives?
Endive cultivation
The cultivation of endive cannot be improvised but must be anticipated because it is harvested at the end of a fairly long process which is done in two stages:
- in the garden, endive is sown in spring like other salad seedlings, then the plants are thinned to 10-15cm, they are watered, and mulched until their vegetation comes to an end, that is- that is to say in autumn, around October or November;
- forcing will take over, it will consist of tearing up the roots to plant them elsewhere to obtain a second shoot of densely planted leaves called endives.
How to force endives into the cellar?
Forcing is carried out from November to January, which allows you to have vegetables throughout the winter and until spring. The uprooting of the taproots begins as soon as the first cold weather arrives: they have completed their growth in the ground and have stocked up on stored nutrients. You can prepare your endive roots for planting:
- Use a spade to avoid breaking or damaging the roots.
- Prune the foliage 1 or 2cm from the collar so that it does not become a source of rot, taking care not to attack the terminal bud.
- Also, cut the end of the root as if you were trimming it to remove any parts that are too long or too thin.
- Leave the roots on the ground for 3 to 4 days, in the dark, so that the vegetation stops, especially if the endives have not experienced frost in the ground.
You need storage boxes or large bins that are deep enough (50cm). Fill the bottom with a mixture of soil and sand and arrange the roots side by side, one by one, placing soil between them, until their collars, all at the same level, are just emerging from the substrate. Watering will help the soil to infiltrate between each root.
Therefore, two possibilities are available to you depending on the varieties since some require soil covering and others do not.
Forcing endives in cellars without covering the soil
The substrate must be kept moist but not excessively, and the boxes should be placed in a place without light (cellar, pantry, garage, etc.) at a mild temperature between 10 and 16°C. If your garage does not offer darkness, black plastic can cover the box.
The harvest of forced endives without covering soil is made easier, it occurs as needed from 1 month to 1 and a half months later.
This endive forcing technique is reserved for modern varieties developed in the 1970s, such as ‘Zoom F1’, ‘Atlas F1’, ‘Béa F1’, and ‘Festive F1’.
Forcing endives in the cellar by covering the soil
Once the endives have been placed in the watered soil, the collars should be covered with 20cm of soil, without watering again so as not to increase the risk of rot. The temperature and darkness conditions are identical to forcing without overlap.
Harvesting requires “digging” into the substrate; it also takes place between 4 and 6 weeks after the start of forcing but varies depending on the temperature.
The traditional and old varieties require forcing with recovery, these are ‘Witloof Normal, ‘Demi-hâtive de Mâlines, ‘Demi-hâtive de Hollande, etc.
Please note: if you haven’t sown your endives or don’t have a garden, you can buy endive roots ready to plant in the fall!
