Chicory, mushrooms and accessories

Growing mushrooms and chicory: here's how to get started

Vegetable gardening often remains a good intention for many. A pity really, but it is true that maintaining your vegetable garden takes quite some time. Certain crops are also quite fragile, so you need to have the right knowledge. However, growing mushrooms and chicory is child's play and absolutely NOT time-consuming.

Growing chicory

Around the beginning of October every year, our chicory roots are available. With these, you can very easily grow your own chicory. There are two types of chicory roots, namely chilled and non-chilled. 

• Chilled chicory roots: After the farmer harvests the chicory roots, they are stored at around 1°C for about two weeks. As a result, they can be served immediately and you can start growing chicory right away. 
• Non-chilled chicory roots: These chicory roots were not refrigerated. After receiving them, it's best to chill them yourself for a while before serving them in.

Growing chicory: step-by-step plan

1. Chicory is grown in the dark. This is because light will cause chlorophyll to form, which would turn the chicory green (i.e. green chicory). There this chlorophyll would change the flavour.
   
   Did you know: Asparagus - that other white gold - is kept white the same way. In an asparagus field, you will see embankments so that the asparagus can grow in the dark. As soon as the asparagus pokes its head above the sand, it is staked to prevent it from turning green.
   
   So to grow beautiful chicory, you really need to bury your chicory roots. 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 forcing tray, you can also easily grow chicory indoors (e.g. in a cellar, storeroom...)! 
2. Setting in: When growing chicory, first make a pit in topsoil. Then arrange the carrots all nicely next to each other. 
3. 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 fertiliser-enriched potting soil! Feel free to reuse the soil from your flower and plant boxes, or mix some peat under the soil. 
4. Do not grow chicory in a forcing tank or buckets in the kitchen or laundry room. If you grow chicory at more than 18°C, your chicory will be forced too much, resulting in heads falling open. 
5. The soil in which the chicory roots are standing should be moist. However, do not overdo it because too much water is even harmful for 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 for watering tomato plants in the greenhouse) 
6. The warmer, the quicker you can harvest. Professional growers often use a heating element that brings the soil temperature between 14° and 18°C. At such temperatures, you will have ready-to-eat chicory after only about three weeks. Don't use these heat sources? Then, depending on the temperature, you have to wait a few months. 
7. Harvesting: You have finished growing chicory. Cut/break off the head.

Mushroom cultivation

Further in our range, we have several growing sets for mushrooms from a number of different brands. The roadmap for growing these mushrooms differs for each type of grow kit and each type of mushroom. The way of work for white mushrooms differs from that of oyster mushrooms and that again from that of brown mushrooms.

All the ins & outs of growing chicory? You can read them here 👇