• Witloof chicory forced and ready for the table.
  • Witloof chicory growing in the garden.
  • Witloof Chicory (Belgium Endive) from the 1933 Henderson's catalog.
  • 1927 litho of 'Witloof Chicory' (Belgium Endive).
  • Witloof Chicory (Belgium Endive) from "The Vegetable Garden," MM Vilmorin-Andrieux, 1885
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Witloof Chicory

Witloof Chicory

$2.45 USD
$2.45 USD
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Witloof di Bruxelles Chicory, Belgian Endive or White Endive
Cichorium endivia

Currently unavailable, we suggest Rossa Di Treviso and Broadleaf Batavian as alternatives.

60 to 160 days — Traditionally 'Witloof di Bruxelles' chicory is used as a forcing variety but is also quite fine when grown as a standard salad green.  It originated in Belgium in the mid-1800s. Witloof is Flemish for "white leaf."
Sow seeds in late spring, either in flats or directly into a well prepared bed with rich soil.  Transplant or thin to a final spacing of ten to twelve inches.  Water and weed then throughout the summer and fall.  To create the signature blanched, white heads, the roots are lifted (dug) in late fall, usually in early November.  At this stage, they should be close to two inches in diameter.  The leaves are then all trimmed off to about one and a half inches from the crown.  The inner leaves and heart are tender enough to be harvested and used in salads.

The roots are then sorted for health and suitability.  If they have divided, they are discarded.  Side shoots on the roots are pinched off and the overall length shortened to eight to ten inches.  In some areas the roots can be replanting into the gardens and heavily mulched.  For more control, they are placed in moist sand in a dark, warm place and allowed to grow until the leaves are four to six inches tall.

Each packet contains one gram, which is approximately 450 seeds.
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