Chicory – Rossa Di Treviso

Description

Sow seed in June – August. Sow undercover in modules, seed trays or small pots and cover with a light covering of compost or sow direct. If sowing direct seeds can be sown quite close together if harvesting for leaves, if you want hearting chicory then sow seed in seed trays and prick out individually into modules to grow on until ready to plant out. Sowing in July helps prevent flowering too early and so good for hearting, you can use this as a late winter crop after another vegetable has finished such as onions or carrots. 

For planting in July for hearts, spacing at 30cm but you can sow closer together for picking leaves, in this case perhaps 20cm is fine. For hearts, you can cut off all the leaves above the crown in early autumn. It’s the resulting new growth in cold weather that produces the characteristic small, compact, cabbage-like head. They can even be overwintered for spring harvests