Endive is a tender, curly lettuce that is easy to grow. You just have to follow our tips if you want to plant endive.
Endive, which is rich in vitamin A, is a typical autumn salad that, due to its somewhat tart taste, is often mixed with other, sweeter-tasting types of lettuce and potatoes (e.g. as a potato endive salad).
Endive became popular in the gardens because it can be sown from mid-June at the earliest, but is still sufficient up to the end of July or the beginning of August. The endive lettuce is therefore ideal as a follow-up crop for fruit and vegetables that have already been harvested.
Sowing
The lettuce should be sown in a location that is as sunny as possible with humus-rich soil that you may have provided with sufficient compost beforehand. Spread the seed as loosely as possible on the surface of the earth, cover with a layer of approx. 0.5 centimeters of soil and water well.
» Tip:
When buying seeds, look for varieties that are as resistant to bolting as possible.
Care
During the germination phase, you have to water the endive salad regularly, which can grow up to 70 centimeters high, so that the first small plants sprout after about 10 days. From this point on, you can also fertilize the lettuce if necessary. An ecologically harmless fertilizer is completely sufficient.
» Tip:
Gently tie up the endive shortly before harvesting, the outer leaves will also fade better and the overall taste of the lettuce will be milder.
Harvest
Depending on the sowing date, you can harvest endive from August to November. Stored cool and dry, you can even keep it for up to 5 days, which proves to be an advantage with the sometimes quite large harvest plants.
» Tip:
In the meantime, more frost-resistant varieties are also available in specialist shops, which means that the lettuce can still be harvested edible even with the onset of winter.
By the way:
You don't always have to prepare the endive just as a salad. You can also do this, for exampleEat warm - similar to spinach.