Chicory Salad

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Chicory salad, or Vitluf (lat. Cichorium intybus var.foliosum L.) - a perennial herb of the Asteraceae family, or Asteraceae. The plant belongs to the botanical genus Chicory. Witluf was introduced into the culture in 1867, at the same time the plant was first presented on the exhibition market in Brussels. The exact version of the origin of the witloof is not known for certain. Nowadays, chicory salad is widely cultivated in Western Europe, more precisely, in Holland and Belgium. In Russia, the plant is cultivated for about 40-50 years.

Characteristics of culture

Salad chicory is a perennial herb cultivated as an annual, less often as a biennial. In the first year of life, plants form a rather large basal rosette of leaves and a fusiform root. Root crops are subsequently used for forcing konchanchiks with wide leaves of light yellow, creamy white and white color. In the second year, the witloof develops a straight, weakly branched stem with small white or blue flowers, collected in single baskets in the leaf axils or at the tips of the shoots. Fruits are brown pentahedral achenes.

Popular varieties and their description

* Cone - medium early grade. It is represented by elongated-conical root crops weighing up to 250 g. The growing season is 98-115 days. The forcing period is 17-40 days. Heads of cabbage are formed of medium size, usually 4-5 cm, up to 16 cm high, weighing 80-100 g. The flesh of the heads of cabbage is very juicy, white.

* Rocket - medium late grade. It is represented by conical root crops weighing 200 g. The growing season is 130-135 days. The forcing period is 30-35 days. Heads of cabbage are formed elongated-ovate, dense, about 12 cm high. The upper leaves are white with a yellowish tint, the flesh is snow-white. The mass of one head of cabbage is about 90 g.

Growing conditions

Witloof is undemanding to soil conditions, although it develops best on fertile, breathable, moderately moist, slightly acidic or neutral soils. Loam and sandy loam soils are optimal for witloof. It is not recommended to plant a crop in areas with acidic, heavy clayey, waterlogged and waterlogged soils. Onions and legumes, as well as cucumbers and cabbage are considered the best predecessors of witloof. It is undesirable to grow a crop after artichoke, tarragon, parsley, lettuce, Jerusalem artichoke and carrots. Chicory salad needs intense lighting, develops poorly in the shade, often rots.

Soil preparation and sowing

The agrotechnology of chicory salad in the first year is reduced to obtaining even and large root crops, which can only be grown on properly prepared soil. The area for the culture is dug up after the predecessor and fertilized with organic matter. In the spring, the ridges are loosened, a complex of mineral fertilizers is introduced, and, if necessary, repeated shallow digging is carried out. Seeds are sown in early spring in the ground in a row method with an interval of 25-30 cm. The sowing rate is 0.3 g of seeds per 1 square meter. m. Planting depth - 1-1, 5 cm. Witloof seeds germinate slowly, and it is very important to ensure that the weeds do not suppress the seedlings.

Care

In general, caring for salad chicory does not differ from caring for any other root vegetables. In the phase of 2-3 true leaves, the plants are thinned out, leaving a distance of 4-6 cm. Immediately after thinning, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers is carried out. In the future, care is reduced to systematic loosening, weeding and watering.

Harvesting

Witloof root crops are harvested in late September - early October. Small and overgrown root vegetables are used for food, and root vegetables with a diameter of 3-5 cm are placed in boxes and stored in dark basements or cellars at a temperature of 0C. It is very important to ensure that no light hits the roots.

Distillation

The main task of the gardener is to accurately determine the beginning of forcing of root crops. Usually, the state of readiness is determined by a well-developed root collar and the presence of a core of the future head in the pulp. The forcing of the witloof is carried out in dark rooms at a temperature of 10C (no higher!). For 1 sq. m. planted up to 250 root crops. Immediately after planting, the soil is poured abundantly with warm water and covered with a thin layer of soil mixture. The first heads of juicy and tasty leaves ripen in 2-25 days, they are cut off at the base and stored in the refrigerator.