Lettuce chicory

Lettuce chicory

Lettuce chicory is a biennial plant, the edible part is a bleached leaf bud, which is obtained in the second year, by forcing one-year-old roots. Chicory leaves have a peculiarity, bitter taste, which two compounds give them – intrybina i insulina. They stimulate the appetite, digestion and healing in liver diseases. They are characterized by a fairly high protein content, mineral salts, vitamin C and a small amount of carotene. The bleached leaves are juicy, firm and fleshy. They are prepared in a similar way to leaf lettuce.

The optimal temperature for the growth of chicory is 15-20 ° C. Cold weather on young plants causes flower shoots to grow undesirably. The most suitable for her is sandy loam soil in good condition. She is sensitive to the lack of light. It can be grown as an aftercrop after early vegetables, with a short growing season, e.g. after spinach. Due to the deep roots of chicory, the soil must also be deeply dug. It is best to plant chicory in two, three years after feeding the land with manure. Mineral fertilization depends on the soil fertility.
As a guide, the following doses can be taken: 20 g of ammonium nitrate or 30 g of calcium ammonium nitrate, 25-35 superfosfatu i 30-40 g 40% potassium salt per 1 m2.

Chicory is planted in rows 30 cm or in ridges (in catchment soils and with shallow cultivation) width 45-50 cm. Seeds are sown in depth 1 cm, in an amount 4-8 g na 1 m2, on catchment soil more, for not all of them will come up. It is sown from mid-May to mid-June. Earlier sowing may cause the seed shoots to grow (rushing). Plants should be discontinued, leaving what 6-9 cm, and avoid weed infestation.

The roots are dug at the end of November (chicory is not sensitive to frost), cleanses the soil, and the leaves are trimmed, to be of length 3-5 cm or manually removes the side, leaving the middle ones, the youngest. These roots are suitable for driving, which only have one vertex of growth.

You can start brushing up right after harvesting the roots, during winter and early spring. By starting to drive, the ends of healthy chicory roots are trimmed, that they are of equal length, and depresses vertically, strictly one by one, in the sand in the basement, in the inspection box, heated cells, etc.. Room, in which we rush the chicory, it should be at a temperature of 12-18 ° C. The pitted roots are covered with a thick layer of sand 15-20 cm. The sand should be moist. You can also use the ground for lowering, but only plump. After approx 30 days, leaf "heads" should develop in length 15-20 cm. Then the chicory is taken out of the sand and the buds are cut off with a piece of the root, lest the leaves fall apart. WITH 1 m2 can be collected 30-60 kg of leaves.

Lettuce chicory seeds are available for sale, Witloof cultivars, which requires covering with soil when driving. It is a disease resistant variety, fertile, gives well developed heads, white and cream color, up to 1 5 cm. To very fertile, and not requiring cover when driving, include, among others. Dutch varieties: Plumato – for early driving (a collection of heads September-November), mited – for medium early driving (collection of heads December–February), Tarivo – for late driving (a collection of heads March-April).