Ground chicory roots chicory roots 'Topscore' and 'Manoline' - 9kg in net bag ( ± 50 pieces)

Grow your own ground chicory with love! 💚

9kg of beautiful and healthy Topscore or Manoline chicory roots to grow your own ground chicory. 🥬
Locally grown in the Belgian Meetjesland !

1 bag contains 9kg of freshly harvested chicory roots. This corresponds approximately to about 50 chicory roots (depending on the size of the roots). This number is indicative as this is a natural product & is measured by weight not number.

Please note that these chicory roots come fresh from the field & have not yet received a cold period! 
Refrigerate these for about ten days before you start serving!

📦 Ordering & delivery

Booking/ordering by phone or email is unfortunately not possible. As soon as your order is ready for shipment or pickup, you will receive an automatic email (with tracking code if delivery).

When ordering, you can choose to have the chicory pens delivered to your home with PostNL or to pick up your order at our pickup point.

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👩‍🌾 But how do you grow this delicious ground chicory yourself? 

These chicory roots haven't had a cold spell yet so chill them for about ten days before you start serving!

1. Pickling in: make a pit in topsoil and arrange the carrots all nicely next to each other.

2. Cover the carrots with a layer of soil of ± 15 cm. Use as poor soil as possible, such as seed and cutting soil, but definitely not fertilizer-enriched potting soil!

You can also reuse the soil from your flower and plant boxes, or mix peat under the soil (for a more acidic soil).

3. Chicory should not get any light, otherwise you will grow green beans ;-). As an alternative to soil, you can also use hay, straw or black plastic. As long as no (sun) light reaches the roots... Are you growing in buckets? Then instead of 15 cm of soil above the roots, you can simply place a bucket or black pot. Thanks to our chicory forceer box, you can also easily grow indoors (e.g. in a cellar, storage room...)!

Important to mention is that you should not put the bucket or forceer box in the kitchen or dining area because of the temperature. Are you growing at more than 18°C? Then the chicory will be forced too much, and you may end up with heads falling open. That would be a shame!

4. Water: the soil in which the chicory roots are standing must be moist. However, don't overdo it with your watering can because too much water is actually harmful to the chicory. Are you growing in buckets? Then you can choose to put a bottle of water upside down in the middle of the bucket (cutting out the bottom and thus filling the bottle with water, like the principle of watering tomato plants in the greenhouse)

5. Waiting... The warmer, the sooner you can harvest. Professional growers often use a heating element that brings the soil temperature between 14° and 18°C. At such temperatures, you'll have ready-to-eat chicory in as little as three weeks. Don't use these heat sources? Then, depending on the temperature, you have to wait several months.

6. Harvesting: cut/break off the head.

7. Enjoy your homegrown ground chicory ;-)

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FAQ 🙋

-Why are the chicory roots cut off?
That's simple: because they would have an even height for easier tilling. That way you will also be able to harvest more even heads.

- Can I cut off the green foliage?
The foliage is the green part you see at the top of the root. You can cut off the foliage but always leave 2 cm. Do you take off too much foliage? Then you will damage the growing point and the chicory will form leaves on the side, which does not result in nice closed heads...

-The chicory roots I received are smaller than expected?
If you bought the chicory roots at the start of the season, this is perfectly normal! Often the first chicory roots are still a bit smaller (due to the dry summer). Don't worry because from a small root can grow an equally beautiful head as from a larger root!

- My chicory roots do not form nice heads, but fall apart?
Of course you want to grow nice, dense heads, but what if your heads just fall apart loose? This can have several causes:

👉 Did you buy Topscore or Manoline chicory roots? If so, they should get a cold period before you table them, as these chicory roots come fresh from the field! Do you table them immediately after receiving them? Then you run the risk of the heads falling apart... Would you rather get to work with the chicory roots right away? Then choose pre-cooled Bingo chicory roots. These have already received a cold shock at the grower.

👉 Too much light! Yes, even in a sealed chicory forcing tray, light can still get in if you place the tray in direct sunlight. So choose the place where you place your forcing tray or sealed bucket wisely!

👉 Too hot! Not only does direct sunlight bring light into your grow box, it also causes the temperature to skyrocket. Thus, it becomes warmer in the container than the ambient temperature, preventing your chicory from sprouting nicely.

- How many times can I harvest from the same chicory roots? 
Per chicory root you harvest 1 head. After cutting off the head, loose leaves can sometimes grow. These are delicious in your salad!

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More info?
Click here for our starter guide with our handy tips & tricks!

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We reserve the right, if this type of chicory pin is no longer available, to supply another type (Bingo). We try to avoid this as much as possible.