How to grow... Chicory

Rocket Growing Guides

Chicory

It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it! They are great for salads and with regular picking you can get a lot from just one plant too.

  • Chicory Growing Guide

How to Plant Chicory

  • Choose a sunny site with fertile, light soil
  • If planting in summer, choose a slightly shaded spot as chicory prefers a cooler climate (or plant it between rows of taller veg, like broad beans etc)
  • If planting in autumn, choose a spot that gets maximum sunlight
  • Plant in raised beds/traditional veg patch, or in pots – 1 plant to a 30cm pot, or you could plant 5 or 6 to a grow bag
  • Plant 30cm apart

How to Grow Chicory

  • Keep it well watered during the summer
  • Mulching will really help during hot, dry spells
  • If you feel the plant looks weary during the growing season, a nitrogen-rich liquid feed will normally perk them up quite quickly
  • If you are growing them in pots they will benefit from a liquid feet every 2 weeks.
  • Keep chicory plants well weeded for best results.
  • To make leaves whiter, tie a piece of string around the leaves and draw them together to prevent light from reaching inner leaves. Do this about 10 days before harvesting the leaves, much longer and the plants will begin to suffer.

Common Pests and Problems with Chicory

  • Slugs and Snails can sometimes bother chicory, especially while the plants are still fairly young
  • Bolting may be a problem during hot summer months – try to keep plants cool with frequent watering, apply a mulch and if possible give them a bit of shade.
  • Not turning red – chicory will normally not turn red until it hits colder temperatures in late autumn/winter

How to Harvest and Store Chicory

  • Pick off the looser, outer leaves as you want for salads etc
  • Once the centre of the plant has formed a firm heart, you can cut the whole thing off using a sharp knife a few cm above soil level – leave a bit of stump in the ground. This could be any time between late September and March/April the following year, depending on when you planted it.
  • Chicory will normally re-sprout if you leave the stump in the ground after harvesting. Worth a try!

When your plants arrive....

Your baby plants will arrive carefully packed. They may look a little tired from their travels. This is quite normal but, as soon as possible, carefully unpack them all.

Stand them upright, being especially careful with the ones that aren’t in bio pots. The roots may be dry, so give them all a good drink of water by submerging the roots for a few minutes in a container of clean water.

Now you are ready to plant your Rocket Garden. Try to do this within 24 hours of the arrival of your plants.

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