When to sow chicory? Introduction to the best planting time

Chicory is also called bitter vegetable, bitter lettuce, and small goose vegetable. It can be eaten and also used as medicine, with the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and removing dampness and lowering blood pressure. So when is chicory sown?

1. When is chicory sown?

There are two methods: seed propagation and rhizome propagation. Seeds can be sown in spring, summer, and autumn, generally with spring sowing as the main season and summer and autumn sowing as supplementary. Spring sowing can use a hotbed to raise seedlings and bring them to market earlier. For direct sowing in the open field in summer, excessive vegetative growth must be prevented. Sowing in late autumn should be carried out in protected facilities. For rhizome propagation, dig up the mother roots of wild chicory, remove the old leaves, and plant them in furrows 8-10 cm deep at a plant spacing of 15 cm and a row spacing of 25 cm. Water immediately after planting to settle the roots, then cover with soil after the water seeps in, just enough not to expose the mother roots.

2. How is chicory cultivated?

1. Land preparation: Deep plow before planting, apply sufficient base fertilizer, apply more decomposed organic fertilizer, and apply little or no chemical fertilizer to ensure the quality of chicory. After deep plowing and fine cultivation, water thoroughly to moisten the soil. After the water seeps in, sow the seeds in the furrows and cover the furrows level with fine soil.

2. Planting: The main cultivation seasons for chicory are spring and autumn. Spring sowing should be as early as possible to extend its vegetative growth period and harvest period. Seedlings can be raised in a hotbed and transplanted when they have 7-9 leaves, at a plant spacing of 20 cm and a row spacing of 30 cm. Direct sowing can be used for open-field sowing, but thinning is needed to promote plant growth. Autumn sowing can be divided into early autumn sowing and late autumn sowing. Early autumn sowing is harvested in the winter of the same year; late autumn sowing is harvested in March-April of the following year. However, when cultivating overwintering crops in cold winter areas, they should be planted in protected facilities such as cold frames and greenhouses.

3. Management: During the growth period, attention should be paid to watering, topdressing, and intertillage weeding. In the early growth stage, watering is needed 2-3 times, usually more in spring and less in autumn. And according to the soil compaction, carry out intertillage and loosening of the soil together with watering. In the peak growth stage, apply quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer together with watering to promote leaf growth, making them larger and thicker and improving yield and quality. To reduce bitterness and make the quality tender, blanching cultivation can be carried out. Any measure that keeps the leaves away from light and maintains moderate dryness can achieve the purpose of blanching, such as transplanting the plants into cellars or covering them with straw curtains.

4. Harvest: Chicory can be harvested multiple times for its tender stems and leaves. Generally, when the plant has 6 true leaves or the plant height is 10 cm, it can be harvested by cutting with scissors or pinching by hand. Harvest once every half month in spring; once every 10 days in summer; once a month in autumn. Water immediately after harvesting and apply quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. The growth period of each crop should not be too long, so as not to affect product quality. After harvesting, sort it promptly, remove weeds and old leaves, and use it for food or sell it on the market.

Chicory can be eaten directly and has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It is a traditional edible vegetable in our country and has many cooking methods, and it is deeply loved by the broad community of farmer friends.