It's a while since I reported progress on the Endives and Chicories...
 |
| Radicchio "Palla Rossa" |
Over the last couple of weeks it has been wet most of the time, and not conducive to the close inspection of anything in the garden, but when the sun came out for a while I went out for a quick look round.
This year, for various reasons I was a bit late in getting any Chicory or Endive started, and I have paid the penalty. The plants didn't grow big enough before Autumn arrived. Over the last couple of months their growth rate has been agonisingly slow, and even now I would say they are still a lot smaller than I would have hoped for. My garden plan for 2014 includes making greater efforts to have something harvestable even in the depths of Winter, so more attention to these hardy salad crops will definitely be included in that plan.
As many of you will know, most of my Chicories and Radicchios this year are from a mixed pack, which presents a few identification problems (not that this is really a problem at all). Here are four different types of Radicchio:-
 |
| "Rossa di Treviso"? |
 |
| "Palla Rossa"? |
 |
| "Grumolo Rosso"? |
 |
| No idea - but this one is so dark that it is almost black. |
I think this is a "Pan di Zucchero" (Sugar Loaf) Chicory [but I wouldn't stake my life on it.]
 |
| "Pan di Zucchero"? |
I think positive identification will only be possible once the vegetable matures. A mature "Pan di Zucchero" forms a dense heart of creamy yellow/white leaves which look very much like Chinese Leaves (Napa Cabbage)!
The Endives have been a bit better. We have actually eaten a few of them. This is a real treat for us because you so seldom see Endive for sale in our shops, other than little bits of it included in those dreadful bags of mixed salad leaves.
 |
| Broad-leaved or Batavian Endive |
 |
| Curly Endive - type not known |
 |
| Curly Endive - type not known |
Those Endives look much more impressive in the photos than do for real. In all honesty they are fairly pathetic, and I have grown ones before that have been three times the size. Maybe next time...
******************************************************************************
If you are looking for more information about Radicchio, there is a lot of it on my blog - unfortunately, due to the current continuing non-operation of Blogger's Search facility it is a bit harder to find than would normally be the case. Here's a link to an old post called Growing Radicchio, which might help you.
Although the "Search this blog" widget in the sidebar is not working, there is actually another way of searching the blog:- use the little Search box at the top left of the page. If you enter your keyword, all the posts that contain it will be presented below! (Could involve a lot of reading...)
I wish I liked them because they look so pretty. I occasionally grow things I don't like because they are such beautiful plants or vegetables. It has to be something my townhouse mates like though.
ReplyDeleteI've added a third party search box Mark and that seems to work. The radicchio are beautiful colours
ReplyDeleteI love the waxy look and colour of the purple ones, very hard to get your hands on unless you grow them I imagine!
ReplyDeleteThe rossa looks stunning, almost rose like.
ReplyDeleteAlso thank you Mark, I did see your kind response to my cheeky request in the previous blog entry. Yes Thank you so much to help me get started with seeds. I will drop you a note once I know for certain of my move.
Dark red color make them so interesting , they are unusual in my contry
ReplyDeleteThese do look very tasty; rewarding to be harvesting in these dark months whatever the size. I've yet to try growing radicchio or chicory... perhaps this year!
ReplyDelete