Indoor Gardening: Forcing Chicory (Belgian Endive)

As autumn leaves fluttered over the barren garden, she sighed and longed for summer to return. A wish filled her heart - to walk among vegetables, plucking their bounty and breathing the earthy, garden scent. Then, remembering her horticulture classes from college, she smiled. "That's it! I'll do an indoor garden."

Although I'm actually talking about myself here, all gardeners can relate to the let-down-feeling that results when the growing season ends. This fall, fight back by creating an indoor garden.

Surprisingly, many vegetables and flowers work well as forced plants. With flowers, the ones that come to mind are narcissus or daffodils. (One year, I forced a Peruvian daffodil - not knowing it would grow to "Little Shop of Horrors" proportions.)

For vegetables, consider forcing chicory. Gardeners who love salads find autumn the perfect time to start their indoor garden by potting the roots and forcing plants to grow.

Cure and conquer. Loosen chicory roots in the fall - a root ball of approximately 2" in diameter works best. Cut tops 1/2" above root shoulder, and let sit in the garden for 2 days to cure. Don't expose chicory roots to sunlight ... well, unless you want to kill them. After curing, bring inside, trim roots to 5-8", and store in dry soil.

Place in pots. About 3 weeks before harvesting, place 3 chicory root balls in loamy soil in a 12" deep container with good drainage. Set plants so the leaf stubs barely show above dirt. Water until moist. Repeat with as many pots as you'd like.

Do it in the dark. Place chicory in a cool, dark area - such as a cellar or basement - where temperatures stay near 60 F. Cover with a container big enough to allow growth and that excludes light. A box or bucket works well. Keep soil moist.

Help yourself to the harvest. After 3 weeks, harvest the pale leaves. Combine with nuts and apples for a crunchy, bitter-sweet salad. Yummy! Or toss with bacon, cheese, and an oil-balsamic vinegar dressing.

This year, when autumn gloominess hits, consider forcing chicory. You'll have homegrown, fresh salads to your heart's content.

Sources
"Witloof Chicory (Belgian Endive)," Oregon State University.
"Growing Chicory," BBC Gardening Guides.

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