Topic: Last whiteloof harvest

[ina]

That's it for this year. The container they grew in is out of the bathroom and ready to be taken back to the lottie where the roots go on the compost and the soil dumped in the veggie plot.

[Mimi]

What exactly is whiteloof Ina?Ive never seen it before.  Looks a little like chicory. Do you eat it raw or is it cooked?

[Gardengirl]

Didn't like to show my ignorance Ina, but I was wondering the same thing ???

[tim]

- lovely tight hearts, Ina - do you get a second crop, after cutting, like we did from Stephan's roots? = Tim

[ina]

It IS chicory. Sow in spring, let the plants grow, dig up roots in oct/nov, cut the leaves after a few days and dry roots a couple of weeks in a cold place, plant the roots to force in the dark.

Wonderful as a salad as well as cooked. This is the second year I'm doing witlof, next year I will not plant them, to be forced, all at once, still I harvested 6 weeks in total from one planting. A while back I posted pictures of the whole process here, so if you are interested you can try to find that thread back.

I used seed for the self closing type so you don't have to cover them with peat or sand to get tight chicons Tim. They stay nice and clean that way too. The second crop is just loose leaves but I use them too until the last chicons are harvested.

Don't be silly Patricia, ignorance? I found out that witlof is not commonly grown in England and only available at specialty stores at crazy prices. Not cheap in Holland but it is common in the green grocers, not a standard basic crop for allotmenteers either. Anyway, that's the reason I posted stuff about witlof on this board.

[Mrs Ava]

Ina, can you tell me, the first crop of leaves that are produced, do you use them as a salad crop, or do you just leave them growing their little hearts out until autumn?   ;D

(Lish sent me some of the seeds you originally sent her, so I will be trying them this year - lurve chicory thanks to my old dad, and don't want to suffer the same... ahem .... wind problems lish did  :-/)

[ina]

Hi Emma Jane,
You just let them grow, they get fairly big. No I don't use the leaves for salad, they tend to be bitter.

Lish was impatient and didn't wait for my instructions so....... she ate the roots! What a good laugh we had about that.

If you need anymore advice, just ask. You can do that on the board or send me a private message, whatever you want. Nothing is more fun than to help people with a new (for them) crop. That's the great thing about this board.
good luck,
Ina

[Mrs Ava]

Cheers for that Ina.  I know what you mean about Lish, when she told me I literally fell off my chair laughing!  ;D

So, sow thinly, let them grow away, then come autumn cut off leaves, dig up, clean roots, pot in fresh potting compost and leave somewhere dark and cool?  Is that the plan??  I promise not the be impatient  ;D

[ina]

Sow in spring, let the plants grow, dig up roots in oct/nov, cut the leaves after a few days and dry roots a couple of weeks in a cold place, plant the roots to force in the dark.

Good luck.

edit: Try these for more info

http://greennature.com/article2045.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/specialty/endive.html

http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/witloof.html

Remember, the seeds you have are for the self closing type, so no need to cover them with sand for forcing, just let the tops of the roots stick out above the soil
Lots of recipes too if you google witloof.