Last edited on January 14, 2020. View history
Belgium Endive
A variety of endive
How to sow Belgium endive: Direct seed, thin to 15cm apart
Sun requirement for Belgium endive: Plant in Partial Sun
Belgian Endive (not to be confused with Endive) is a chicory cultivar that is grown for its small head of tender, cream-colored, slightly bitter leaves. The plant is first grown outside, then the tops are cut and the thick roots are transplanted indoors where they are grown without any sunlight in a process known as "forcing." The lack of sunlight prevents the new leaf growth from turning green or opening up. The paler the leaves, the less bitter the taste. Belgian Endive can be roasted, tossed in salads, or baked into various dishes. The harder inner part of the stem at the bottom of the head can be removed before cooking to reduce bitterness.
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Belgium endive facts
Lifespan
Row Spacing
15cmCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For Belgium endive, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 6°C and a shortest growing cycle of 90 days at its best temperature, about 1260 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your Belgium endive will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 90 to 330 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Cichorium intybus L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Asteridae Asterales Compositae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: -1 °C, rest: -5 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | biennial, perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | moderate |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
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