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By Gino Caporizzo

Here is a list of my favorite chicory varieties from Franchi that I plant in my vegetable garden:

Chicory Catalogna Frastagliata

Chicory Pan di Zucchero

Chicory Catalogna Puntarelle a Foglie Stretta

Chicory Galantina-Asparagus Chicory

Chicory Palla Rossa Agena

Chicory Variegata di Castelfranco

In Zone 6 (eastern Pennsylvania) I start preparing my garden during the week of May 25th. The adding of rich aged compost (2 to 3 inches) to my garden plot will provide adequate nutrients for my favorite chicory varieties. The garden is rototilled till the soil is well mixed. I repeat the rototilling step at least two times before the seeds are sown. As an avid gardener I prefer seeding on raised beds utilizing a spacing of 2 feet between rows.  

During the week of June 21st I plot the raised bed area and mark where I will be planting each of the selected varieties of chicory.  I simply take two steel pins and a 30 ft. long string and carve out a small channel (4 inches wide and 3 inches deep) by pulling my garden hoe guided by the tensioned string.  Seeds are continuously dropped into the channel at a rate of 4 to 5 every two inches. Once the seeds have been sown I’ll lightly rake the channel by utilizing the corner of the leaf rake, this action will cause the seeds to be covered with soil. Two days after sowing I will apply a fine mist of water so that the seeds will have the moisture required for germination.

Within one week after seeding, the seeds will start to germinate and this will trigger an additional application of mist so that the ground is well moist. It is important to keep the freshly seeded plot free of weeds during the early stages of plant growth.  After four to five weeks the young plants start to take shape and by thinning (2 inch spacing between plants) I create additional room for the young seedlings to grow.  The thinning out process is continuously performed so that the chosen healthiest plants have ample room to grow.  The tender seedlings that are removed will make an exceptional garden salad. Watering on a weekly basis is a must.

By the second week in August the young plants are starting to take shape and I further increase the distance between seedlings so that I have at least 4 to 6 inches between the growing plants. The extra plants will be shared with family and friends or if additional room is available in my garden I will plant them for a late season harvest.  As the plants grow I keep my beds aerated and well cultivated. I gently place the worked soil closer to each plant for extra plant support.

By Labor Day the plants seem to take a giant leap in maturing thus focusing on the final plant spacing before harvesting is a must.  I have learned to utilize different spacing for each of the varieties, please see the attached spread sheet for the details. The rains of fall arrive and the added water is a welcome sign to the chicory garden.  The chicory plants are actively growing and there is no better sight than looking at these colorful plants. 

During the first weeks of October most of the varieties are ready for harvesting and “what a sight”, judging which plant needs to be first harvested is always an easy decision.  From my experience the Chicory Catalogna Frastagliata and Chicory Galantina-Asparagus are the first to be harvested since the tall blades of Frastagliata and the tender stems of Galantina will not tolerate an unexpected hard frost. The tenderness and flavor of Chicory Pan di Zucchero is quite exquisite in a salad and I prefer not exposing them to frost.  Chicory Catalogna Puntarelle a Foglie Stretta can tolerate early light frost thus I can delay the harvest at this time.

The colors that fall brings are no match for the Chicory Palla Rossa Agena and Chicory Variegata di Castelfranco. As a rule of thumb I never pull the plants out of the ground but I always cut them slightly below ground so that I leave the root in the ground.  As the chilly nights arrive the growing season for the chicory garden has come to a halt and a gardener’s only remaining task is that of thinking of how to stretch the harvest season of chicory.  At times I have used a row cover to protect the plants against a hard frost and hoping that a long Indian summer will soon arrive so that the season can be extended. The frosts of early November are not forgiving thus it is wise to fully harvest the Variegata di Castelfranco so that one can take advantage of its size. As the Thanksgiving holiday comes into view the only remaining chicory in my garden is Chicory Palla Rossa Agena. The core of the colorful 4 to 6 inch heads will withstand the hard frost but the outer leaves will have shown signs of surrender  to mother nature thus their time to be harvested has also arrived. 

Over the years I have learned on how to store Chicory Palla Rossa Agena in the refrigerator.  Once the heads are harvested I allow them to dry for a few days in my garden shed. After assuring that the heads are dry they are placed in an oversized paper bag. The loosely closed bag will be placed in a refrigerator and every few days one of the heads will be used at dinner time.  To date I have successfully kept heads of Chicory Palla Rossa Agena till the last week in January.  The bitter taste associated with the last head of chicory enhances the looking forward to the next gardening season. 

During the winter months I look forward to the coming of spring. I have found that there is no better way to determine its arrival than to monitor the bare garden for the first sight of a sprouting chicory root.  Once florets from last year’s chicory roots are ready for harvest (4 to 5 inches long) it is a delight to see them and now I can truly say that last year’s growing season is finally over.

 

Tabulated details for the Chicory varieties that I grow in my garden:

Variety

Seeding time

Application (seeds/in)

First thinning (weeks after seeding)

Early transplant available(weeks after seeding)

Final spacing (in)

Harvest time (weeks after seeding)

Tolerance to hard frost

Storage time  (weeks)

Favorite use

Chicory Catalogna Frastagliata

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9 

10 to 12

12 to 14

No tolerance

1

Soup with navy beans or salad

 Chicory Galantina-Asparagus Chicory

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9

12 to 14

14 to 16

No tolerance

2

Cut in bite size snack or  salad

Chicory Pan di Zucchero

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9

12 to 14 

13 to 15

No tolerance

1

Salad

Chicory Catalogna Puntarelle a Foglie Stretta

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9

8 to 11 

12 to 15

Little tolerance

1

Sauteed with garlic and mix your favorite spaghetti

Chicory Variegata di Castelfranco

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9

12 to 14

13 to 16

Little tolerance

2

Salad

Chicory Palla Rossa Agena

On or about June 21

4 to 5

4 to 5

8 to 9

12 to 14

13 to 17

Good tolerance

5 to 7 

Cut in half, BBQ for 1 minute on each side (as a side dish) or salad