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Spicy salad mix | ||
If you can’t face another boring green salad, these three fantastic leaves will perk up your palate and your plate with their distinctive flavors and colorful leaves. Chicory is famously bitter; orach tastes a little like salty spinach; and sorrel has a mild citrus flavor. You’d be hard pressed to find the last two in a supermarket, but luckily they are easy to grow. | ||
Chicory | ||
Plant used Chicory ‘Treviso Precoce Mesola’ Exposure Full sun Temperature needs Fully hardy Harvesting period Summer to winter Suitable pot size 18in (45cm) Suitable container material Terra-cotta, plastic, glazed ceramic Compost type Multi-purpose compos | Chicory is famed for its bitter leaves, and there are three types available. Sugarloaf and red chicory, which is better known as radicchio, are grown for their leaves, while Belgian or Witloof forcing chicory produces tender white hearts, known as “chicons”, when deprived of light. All seeds are started the same way. Sow them thinly across the surface of a pot filled with seed compost and cover with ½in (1cm) of sieved compost. Water and place in a sunny site. When seedlings have a few leaves, transplant three into an 18in (45cm) pot. Spring sowings provide summer leaves, while seeds sown in the summer will be ready from fall through winter | TOP TIP: BLANCHING CHICORY |
Once forcing chicory has developed a good head of leaves in late autumn, cut the tops off, leaving a 2in (5cm) stump. Water plants well, then cover the stumps with an upturned bucket to exclude any light, and stand in a frost-free place. Your blanched chicons will be ready to harvest after a month | ||
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