Artichoke and relatives - The Manual of Seed Saving - page 15

• overwintering strategy
• support poles and string
POLLINATION NOTES What was said of endive applies here, for the most part, except that with
chicory, you must be aware of your plants' potential for crossing with the wild form. Again, endive
can cross-pollinate chicory (though not vice versa), so we advise growing only one chicory variety for
seed per year. Alternatively, strictly observe a spatial isolation distance of at least 500 ft. (150 m) from
all endive or chicory varieties (or use isolation cages).
GROWING FOR SEED Some varieties are sensitive to temperature; they bolt in the first year when it
starts to get cold. Do not save seed from early-bolting plants! Otherwise, all instructions for endive are
valid for radicchio and leaf chicories.
Red radicchio can have a rounded or a pointed shape. Heads are always enclosed in several surrounding loose leaves.
Overwinter chicory roots with trimmed leaves in a root cellar. Select plants after they have begun to
grow back in darkness in late winter and plant out, taking care to allow them to slowly adjust to sun-
light to avoid “burning” leaves.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
• typical or exceptional leaf shape, color, and size
• well-developed tight rosette
• late bolting
• vigorous taproot for Belgian endive
• large and especially tight chicons for Belgian endive
• large roots with consistent thickness for root chicory
• good aroma and sufficient level of bitter compounds for root chicory
CULTIVATION HISTORY Blanching of secondary growth from cut chicory plants was happened upon
in 1850 in the Brussels Botanical Garden and further developed there. To produce chicons, roots of
Belgian endives grown outdoors are cut and moved into dark rooms to keep the leaves white and pre-
vent them from opening. Root chicory was grown on a large scale in Germany and Austria in the 19th
century for the production of a chicory-based coffee substitute. Root chicory varieties with low con-
tents of bitter compounds are grown in Italy and are found in winter vegetable markets as soncino .