December 29, 2017 – Belgian Endive – update on experiment

         It is great to report that forcing ‘chicons’ from roots of Belgian endive, (Cichorium intrybus), can be done by a novice.

         My objective was to have fresh chicons of Belgian endive for Christmas eating.  I was partially successful. [See my November 11, 2017, Blog for more detail.]

         I got one really nice chicon and then open growth, not forming chicons, from the other roots.  I did wait, but looks like they have all gone to feathery leaves instead of tight chicons.  The timing was correct, I did have the big chicon for Christmas Eve, diced fine and used for the base of a lovely winter salad and it tasted great to me.  Today, I took the palest leaves of the feathery growth that did not make chicons and had those diced up in a salad.  Tasted good – so even if I did fail on getting full chicons  from all the roots, I did have a nice winter salad from my partial failure as well.

Upon further review of my previous research on this process, some feel that one MUST cover the top of the root with 4 to 5 inches of sand so that the weight of the sand will cause the chicons to become tight; whereas, other’s indicate just soil or sand up to the crown of the root is sufficient.

         The first run I put down on November 11^th, I sifted sand up to the top of the crowns.  This run, I will shift sand over the roots 4 to 5 inches to see if the results are better. Tight chicons is the objective.  This time I am filling the 15 inch waste basket with sand/soil mix not using pots.  I have taken my dibble and dug in 8 roots.  The wastebasket is now heavy and I haven’t even filled it to cover the crowns.  So, I decided to put the basket in the closet and I will carry the sand to it instead of throwing out my back trying to get an extremely heavy basket from mudroom to closet.  When I need to remove the spent Endive experiment – I will bring in the furniture dolly, and roll it out of the house.

[I’ve a bright idea, I might even go fetch that dolly now – before I fill it the rest of the way. Hopefully I can find it.]. . . [YIPEE . . . I found it!!]

         We have had bitter cold here and now my bag of sand is frozen solid.  I have it thawing out in the mudroom. When thawed, I will finish covering the roots, water them lightly, and cover them so that Experiment No. 2 is in the dark.  In a 21 days or more, I will let you know how they have turned out. 

This time, I will be taking pictures to memorialize my progress and share them with you. 

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As a reminder to my gardening friends, January 1^st is the time to drill in sugar snap peas for an extra early crop. Check out my blog: January 1, 2017 – My New Year’s Tradition:  Planting peas – French Style

I challenge you even if you are not as far South as I am,

 you will have results.