Chicory can be grown both indoors and outdoors
Chicory is often grown in the greenhouse but this is not a must. You can also easily and quickly grow chicory at home. With each of these growing methods you do need to take into account a few rules for a successful harvest!
Because the majority of our customers choose the easiest and fastest way to grow chicory, we assume in this article that you start by buying chicory roots. Do you prefer sowing? Then this article can help you 👉 "Chicory: delicious and easy to grow yourself". Chicory roots are available from 1 November to March.
Indoors
Growing indoors is the easiest way, and also goes much faster than growing outdoors or in the greenhouse. However, there are three conditions you must meet!
The golden rules for white gold:
- No light: screen the chicory from light or place it in a dark room such as a storeroom, crawl space/cellar, garage or cultivate it in a chicory compost bin.
- Not too warm: ensure an optimal growing temperature between 12°C and 18°C maximum. Certainly not warmer because at higher temperatures the chicory will grow too fast, and you will not get solid heads. This is the most common problem when growing at home!
- Not too much water: make sure the chicory roots get some water at the bottom but do not flood them!
About three to four weeks later you can already feast on the delicious chicory. Chicory is by nature a vegetable that is susceptible to mould, so we have to be very alert to this! Make sure that the water goes directly to the root and does not remain at the head of the chicory. You can do this by placing an upside-down bottle/tube in the middle of the tub or bucket, for example.
In the greenhouse or the kitchen garden?
After putting in the carrots, cover the free holes with a little soil. With most varieties, including the varieties of chicory carrots we sell, you should only cover the carrots and not put a layer of soil on top. Covering soil contains bacteria that can cause diseases. It is allowed but not necessary. Water well after planting!
Be careful in freezing weather because freezing temperatures are bad for chicory! The growth process of the carrots will then come to a standstill. Make sure they are well covered and protected against the biting cold. Never use plastic for this, however, as it will cut off all air circulation, and the chance of mould increases. Good options for covering are some straw, hay and jute bags. They retain the heat but also allow the air to pass through.
Depending on the temperature and time of planting, you will be able to harvest chicory after some three weeks (at 18 °C, for instance if you use soil heating in the greenhouse) to some three months (growth stops in freezing weather).
The chicory stalks we sell have already had a rest period of two weeks in the refrigerator. After harvesting, the carrots are stripped of their foliage and immediately put in the refrigerator at 1 to 2 °C. As soon as the carrots come out of the refrigerator, they can start growing well. Attention: By doing so, the foliage of the original plant that was partly cut off will have died off as well. When planting, you may therefore remove these completely. When opening the bag of chicory roots you may notice a 'smell'. This is because the foliage starts to rot away after the big temperature shock. But don't worry, you can still grow a perfect head of chicory with this!
Any other tips for growing chicory? 👇
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